Happy Baseball Season!

Today is a holiday and it lasts until early November. Today is the first day of baseball season.

A good friend, and one of the biggest Giants fans I know sent the following to me this morning and I wanted to share it.

So, at the risk of seeming schmaltzy, sentimental, and overly romantic--which I am--I thought I'd share this with you all before 5 p.m. tonight comes.

Environmentalism – Sanctimony Is Thy Name

Before I get into this I should say that I do care about the environment. A lot. As a fisherman, hunter, canoeist, surfer and cyclist I am “in” the environment quite a bit. I want it to be clean. I want lots of healthy fish and animals available to me to humanely dispatch and put on my plate. I want the rivers and lakes to be clean and enjoyable. However, there is something that bugs me about many “environmentalists”. A disconnect between that which they say and do and the actual impact of those words and actions.

A few years ago during a period of exceptionally high oil prices the cry arose across the land; “Drill Here, Drill Now!” The acclamation was met with the specious argument that if we were to begin drilling now the impact on our domestic oil supply would not be felt for years…so we didn’t. We didn’t open up new permits for millions of square miles of near-shore & deepwater drilling opportunities on the East, Gulf and West Coast, we didn’t tap into ANWR, we didn’t go after the Colorado oil sands and we didn’t tap into the Bakken formation in the Dakotas. Well, it’s been quite a few years and here we are again. Oil is at or around $100 a barrel and batshit crazy lunatics in the Middle East threaten to drive the price even higher. What position might we be in had we decided to “open the taps” as it were on the massive domestic oil resources contained within our borders?

Beyond The French Laundry - Sous-Vide for the home cook

I'm a member of a small message board dedicated to motorsports enthusiasts. The topics of discussion generally pertain to racing and race cars, but there is the occasional discussion of food, particularly wherein there is room for tinkering with process or solving complex problems with home engineering. Any guy who enjoys working on a car is probably just as likely to enjoy trying to figure out how to soup up his smoker or duplicate a complex cooking process using common kitchen supplies. That's what this posting is all about. 

This is a bit exciting as it's the first (and hopefully not the last) guest submission to this blog. Sean Correia and his lovely bride Sandra have sussed out a home engineered process for Sous-Vide cooking and at my request have provided the following submission for your enjoyment:

Man Can Cook #8 - Pan Seared Duck Breast & Cherry Balsamic Sauce

Duck is usually something that gets my attention on a menu but I don't make it very often at home. I should though. It's not particularly difficult, but I think some folks are leery of the idea of cooking a bird to a level of anything short of "well done". Relax, it's duck, not chicken. There is no where near the risk of illness with under-cooking duck as there is with chicken. 

This is a pretty darned easy preparation, and tasty too if I do say so, that is sure to impress.

Turning Japanese - Sumika Kushiyaki Grill & Sake, Los Altos CA

To most Americans the term “Japanese Food” conjures up an image of a Teppanyaki type of joint like Benihana wherein a caricature of Japanese cookery is put on display for millions of open gobbed rubes annually. There are Teppanyaki joints that are quite authentic to tradition….but Benihana isn’t one of them. My disdain of places like this is the same as the disdain I hold for the lion’s share of chain restaurants. Benihana is to Japanese food as Chili’s is to Mexican and Olive Garden is to Italian. There is no amount of kitschy décor that can make lousy food created to appease the masses seem even remotely authentic.

To a much smaller subset of Americans however “Japanese Food” equals Sushi with a smattering of Bento style cooked presentations and for the very bold, perhaps an Udon or a Don bowl. Sadly this is all most of us have access to. But there is more….and dear friends if you, like me, enjoy the flavor profiles of Japanese cooking but crave a more carnivorously centric palate from which to make your selections there is an answer….and a very authentically Japanese one at that.

Seven People That Are Screwing Up This Country

This is a topic that’s been idling around in my scotch soaked brain for quite a few months though recent events have turned it up to eleven. We’ve got problems here folks, and there is a roadblock to solving them. If we don’t address that roadblock we won’t solve a freakin thing.

As the title suggests, there are 7 people who are doing serious damage to our nation as a whole. In reality, the list is far longer than 7, but specific to the topic of political discourse these folks are among the most visible offenders. They are not fostering real critical political debate they are preventing it and by doing so, they are in part responsible for preventing us from solving many of the problems that currently plague us.

So who are these people….

Gigante - Andres Torres and ADHD

San Francisco Giants center-fielder, Andrés Torres, came from humble means, found rejection, mockery, and disappointment, and struggled 10 years in the minors before becoming a major league baseball player.

Andrés has developed strategies and support systems that helped him to become a key player in the San Francisco Giants' 2010 World Series win. His story inspires hope and motivates others to embrace their own challenges and never give up on their dreams.

Directed by Sundance award-winning director, Chusy Haney-Jardine.

DVD release July 2011
www.planafilms.com