That's right. Life is good. I must be on a roll or something. I cooked a yummy pot of Vietnamese soup a couple nights ago for my host family, and they really enjoyed it. I finally have a bottle of fish sauce in the refrigerator, and (they shouldn't have) a bottle of gluten-free soy sauce! Now, who would have thought that soy sauce contains wheat? but it's right there on the label. For shame. First MSG, then wheat?
Anyways - I rejoice! Now I can eat fish sauce on my rice just like I did growing up. For all those of you who don't know, fish sauce is basically anchovy extract, salt, sugar and water. A salty, to-be-used-sparingly kind of condiment, but an absolute staple of my childhood. The crowning glory triumphed when my host's Filipino-Japanese friend came to sleep over, smelled the pho cooking from the door and recognized the aroma!
We've eaten it for breakfast, lunch and dinner... and I only cooked half a package of the rice stick noodles! This reminds me of Strega Nona, one of Tommy Di Paola's characters. She told Tommy to watch the pot and stir the noodles, but it was a magic pot and things didn't exactly go as planned... the noodles ended up multiplying and filling the house!
That's not all, either. Yesterday, I visited the most curious, intriguing place. It was the Museum of Jurassic Technology in the Los Angeles area. I felt almost as if I had entered another world, steeped by degrees in wonder, mystery and the utterly bizarre. There were so many doorways leading to other doorways, a person could easily become lost in the maze of small, dimly lit rooms - or hypnotized by the rustling and chiming of the bell wheel. From a human horn to the Cone of Obliscence, from rotting dice to labyrinth wooden chairs at a console that teaches you to make string figures like Cat's Cradle; from vectographs of flowers to Napoleonic artifacts, the place was jam-packed with every imaginable oddity. Part science museum, part sideshow of the more unusual "natural" occurrences and cultural notables, the MJT was certainly an experience. The occasion of my being there was a Yuletide Celebration, complete with an appropriately exotic spread of food and drink. I spent minutes examining the fare of dried fruits, nuts, cheeses, pastries and delicacies - including figs, dates stuffed with walnuts, camembert cheese, hummus and crostini, Greek olives and pierogies. Candles were lit in every room, and there were coals burning on the rooftop adjacent to Arabic-style fountains and birdcages with plump little finches roosting in them. On my way out, I snagged a Russian chocolate as a souvenir.
I had a pretty busy weekend, what with the festivities for Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose feast is today. My parish had a procession from the City Hall to the church on Sunday morning, followed by a Spanish Mass and plenty of food. There were "tacos Católicos", tamales, pozole, champurrado, nachos and other traditional foods, in addition to some Filipino foods provided by the Mary's Voice choir. This morning I was able to rise early and get to church for the tradition of Las Mañanitas, saluting the Virgin Mary on her feast day, the anniversary of her apparition to St. Juan Diego at the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531. Mass begins at 5 a.m., followed by traditional songs, and of course, champurrado with pan dulce (sweet breads). It's one of my favorite traditions of this time of year. Of course, when I got home I crashed. I guess my busy weekend left me exhausted.
But that's a good thing, because life is too short to die, and sleep is a good part of living. Cheers!
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