July 2008 Archives

Last week, Debbie Dean was in town to give our guest presentation (on grammar instruction). We decided to take her to Pangea in Fig Garden--it was a central location (since we all live in different parts of Fresno), and we knew we'd be able to try some interesting food.

Although the waiter suggested that we all order 3 small plates each, we decided to get a salad and one additional plate each. Then we added one or two more plates, just in case.

My favorite dish of the evening was the Mediterranean Bread Salad, a nice mix of arugula, feta, tomatoes, olives, red onion, and bread with a light vinaigrette. It was so good I want to go back to have the full portion.

I also really enjoyed the trio of mini-burgers. I devoured half of the blue cheese burger. It was moist, tender, and savory.

The rest of our plates included macaroni and cheese, halibut, seared ahi, steak, ribs, and Mexican sushi. I didn't try all of the dishes, since only a couple of people wanted to try the sushi . . . which meant that I ate 3-4 pieces. This is an interesting mix of rice, seaweed, tuna (I think), and tortilla chips, topped with a chipotle sauce. Everyone seemed to enjoy all of the dishes, and we ate until we couldn't eat any more.

Pangea provides a casually elegant version of comfort food. Although the food isn't necessarily sophisticated or inventive, it is enjoyable.

The conversation, on the other hand, was great. We talked about American education and on demand writing. Debbie is a generous scholar, a good listener, and a really fun and interesting person to be around.

Our Writing Project site goes a little crazy with the food each summer. Every day, participants bring "a.m. carbs, a.m. fruit, and p.m. carbs." As the week progresses, more and more food piles up since no one brings the food home. The result? Lots of snacks. Dare I say, too many snacks? This year, we suggested that people didn't need to bring big portions of "p.m. carbs." We also tried to look at what we had and cancel the snacks for the next day, if necessary.

Still, there were some mighty fine snacks. One of my favorites was Linsey's Caramel Chex Mix (otherwise known as "crack in a bag"). The salty ingredients were coated with a sweet substance, thereby creating a nice balance of flavors. It was rather addictive (not just to me, but to many of the participants). Linsey brought the recipe, which I'll include at the end of this post.

Another hit was Kristy's seven layer dip. I'm not sure what she added to the sour cream layer, but it was quite tasty. The dip was gone by the end of the afternoon.

See all the fresh vegetables (tomatoes)? This is healthy, right?

I would love to live on snacks alone.

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Caramel Chex Mix

1 pound butter (you read that right. A pound. No wonder it tastes so good)
2 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. white corn syrup
1/2 t. baking soda
4 quarts popcorn (2 bags)
Nuts
Pretzels

Melt butter, sugar, corn syrup, and baking soda until glossy. Just before it boils. Mix all dry ingredients. Pour syrup over the dry ingredients. Spread thinly on baking sheets.

Bake at 225 degrees for a hour. Mix every 15 minutes.

Makes 4 gallon size bags.

My friend Bo was in China for her birthday. She returned a week ago, so we planned a birthday celebration last night. My schedule is crazy right now with all the Writing Project activities during the week, and Samina is gone for the next couple of weekends. As a result, just Toni, Bo, and I dined at Million Elephant, a Thai restaurant I blogged about last year.

I've liked the space this restaurant is in since I moved to Fresno. It's right on Olive and the entire front has enormous windows. I like sitting at a table close to a window watching the traffic and people move by--makes me feel like I live in a big city.

I also like the food. The green curry is one of my favorite dishes there. I usually order it with tofu, but last night, Bo chose to order a version with chicken. It was still smooth and creamy with the lovely bites of eggplant, green beans and red pepper.

Toni ordered a dish with glass noodles, chicken, shrimp, and bean sprouts. I think she hoped it would be spicier than it was, although she still enjoyed it.

I decided to try something new to me: Chu Chee Salmon with curry and vegetables.

The salmon was melt-in-your-mouth tender (I thought it was going to be broiled, so this was unexpected), but the curry was creamy and the veggies were nicely cooked. I love the coconut milk that Million Elephant uses--I've loved every curry I've ever ordered there. And the majority of their dishes include healthy portions of vegetables--always a plus for me!

After dinner, we walked down Olive, looking into store windows. As dusk fell, we sat outside eating a bowl of ice cream at Scoop's. After so many days of blistering hot weather, the cool(er) air and the slight breeze made being outside actually comfortable. It was a nice evening.

A couple of years ago, I taught a graduate class on Monday nights. Since I taught an earlier MWF class, I stayed on campus all day. When I was able to get most of my work done, I'd treat myself to a meal at Jasmine Garden (2633 E. Shaw) just across the street from the CSU Fresno campus. Frequently, I'd run into other professors from my department, but we'd usually sit at separate tables since we were all getting ready to teach a Monday night class. With books or notes open in front of us, we'd "cram" for class while eating Vietnamese food.

The restaurant has delicious spring rolls and pho, but the dish I most enjoyed was pad pak which I always ordered with tofu.

I loved the combination of vegetables: baby corn, pea pods, broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts, and mushrooms. I also loved the dark, slightly sweet sauce and the fried tofu. Most of all, I loved that there were so many vegetables, I never felt I needed rice to go with the dish. I'd eat what I could, savoring each bite as I reviewed work for class or just enjoyed an hour of freedom. It helped that my class was wonderful, one of the best graduate classes I've ever taught. Going to class was fun, not at all stressful, because the students were smart, insightful, and always ready to discuss. When the semester was over, I missed my Monday night ritual.

A few days ago, I returned to Jasmine Garden with the teachers involved in the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project's Summer Institute 2008. We have a social each week, and this week we decided to have a long lunch at Jasmine Garden. 17 of us were seated at a long table and there was animated discussion from every section.

I've blogged about this at The Icing, but I love this group of people. I spent an hour or two yesterday morning reading some of the writing they've produced so far and was again struck by what generous and kind human beings they are. Their writing moved me to think about connections and interdependence . . . which led to a blog post that crystalizes my most recent explorations/reflections.

So far, Jasmine Garden holds only good memories and associations for me. Delicious food, stimulating conversation, food for thought.

My new friend Madhu blogged about our fourth of July party, as well. Love his post.

Just needed to complete the circle, by linking to his post which links to mine . . . .

Yesterday, I celebrated the fourth of July by going to a party at my friend Samina's house. I was so glad to see Samina's mother again--and to chat with her aunt, cousin Sheba, and Sheba's boyfriend Ian. They had stopped briefly after fighting traffic from Palo Alto to Fresno, taking a break before continuing to Huntington Lake.

We swam for awhile which gave me the opportunity to talk with Pam and Toni while the kids splashed around. I miss the days in Arizona when a pool was just outside my front door, so it was really relaxing and so pleasant to laze into the evening in the cool, cool water.

We also ate, of course. Everyone contributed something. I brought guacamole and a green salad. Toni brought cole slaw. Pam and Tim brought a pasta salad. Samina had chips and salsa, brownies, and drinks. Alex roasted corn and also grilled some veggie burgers and dogs. And Madhu and Kaberi brought . . . . vadas!

Madhu made vada pav, Indian street food made of potato and curry. A couple of months back, my friends and I tried vadas at Brahma Bull; that version was made of chick peas. Madhu's was much more delicious and he brought really interesting chutneys to heighten the flavor, one mint chutney and another incredibly spicy peanut-garlic chutney.

This was delicious food--the chutneys provided an explosion of flavor in contrast to the vada's creamy texture. I loved that the vadas echoed the traditional fourth of July fare (hamburgers), which is, I think, why Madhu decided to make them for Samina's vegetarian household. Here is Madhu enjoying the fruits of his culinary skill.

Kaberi gave me some of the peanut-garlic chutney, suggesting that I mix it with yogurt to make a nice, spicy sauce. And Madhu wrote out the recipe so that I could include it here on Savory Morsels. We all enjoyed our "cosmopolitan" (to quote Samina) fourth of July.

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Madhu's Peanut Garlic Chutney

1 c. peanuts (spanish ones are best)
1/2 c. sesame seeds (white)
1/2 c. coconut flakes, dried
4-6 cloves of garlic
5-10 dry red chiles
2 t. paprika
(the previous two ingredients could be replaced with red chili powder, if necessary)
1 t. cumin seeds
1 t. salt

Roast peanuts, sesame seeds, garlic, cumin, coconut while stirring constantly until they are all evenly browned. Put them all in with other ingredients into a food processor/grinder and grind to powder.

Texture and taste can vary.