Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “food”

14 Jul 2025
5 Comments

BBQ Feng Shui


‘Tis backyard embrace time. Sunlight, flowers, birding, and BBQ. Summer is a favorable outdoorsy season.

Alas-lack of planning (and building funds) circumvented creating a deck or a patio and instead a large swath of pea gravel represents our lounging about area. Not ideal, but sufficient.

Over the years additions such as a fire pit, accompanying Adirondack chairs, flower pots, and hammocks (one for shade, one for the sun) have created a welcoming fair weather space (I stubbornly to acknowledge the coming of the long winter by not putting up the summer furniture until frost arrives and warm coat is necessary to sit outside with the fire pit becoming an essential instead of being decorative).

However, granted though all added comfortable touches created a welcome respite, what was lacking was a BBQ area.

Oh, we tried various methods. The ubiquitous red kettle tripod, even the standard propane range, but it came down to this tried and true:

my little dependable

Please no judging here with this observed statement: I thought men are born with a BBQ gene. I grew up with my Dad grilling steaks as often as he could get away with it, and my friends’ fathers also were grill kings, and in my college days the guys I knew worked the briquettes with aplomb even if they were lost in the kitchen otherwise. So I learned how to BBQ by osmosis simply because BBQ skills fell to me if my family wanted BBQ.

I will leave it at that.

So if I was to be the designated BBQer in my marriage it would be on my terms. Hence, I chose to BBQ with my trusty camping kettle. And it works well. Well, it works better now. In its previous life I would haul it to the beach and set it up on a picnic table and after a day of the kiddos playing all day we would wait for their dad to join us after work and we would enjoy a picnic. Fond memories are attached to that little BBQer. My reluctance to part with it even when tempted with other means of grilling should be understandable.

Just recently my little camping kettle got upgraded to having its own stand instead of being plonked on the ground. Empty nester funds do have a purpose. And now that there is a designated BBQ area there should be an actual dining area. Right?

That took a little more effort, yet it happened with panache. A cafe table with chairs and umbrella. No more schlepping over to the fire pit Adirondack chairs eating with plates on our laps.

Perfect.

And then trouble in BBQ bliss when the neighbors moved in.

Stay tuned for PART TWO.

Posted in Reflections and tagged , , , ,
07 Jan 2025
9 Comments

Touchdown!


No, I’m not referring to January football action. Besides, I’m more of a soccer fan when it comes to fast action with people running around on a field with a ball.

This touchdown refers to being home once again after two plus weeks in Okinawa. Like what Dorothy said: “There’s no place like home.”

image: ABC News
extra: I saw a pair of these at the Smithsonian in Washington DC–there is a definite “ooh” factor

Granted, there were memorable highlights from my trip, the main one being my daughter-in-law’s doula and welcoming my grandson into the world. I even cut the umbilical cord.

Other highlights:

The ocean views. Being on an island means the ocean is a prominent part of the scenery. Having grown up in Seattle, and lived along Northern California’s coast, I am a fan of ocean views. What is especially thrilling is watching the sun rise out of the ocean because duh the sun would naturally rise out of the east. I’m used to the sun sinking, not rising, in the ocean being from the western side of the world. The sun leisurely ascending out of its watery rest, slowly rising as mound of fluorescent pink, (much like an egg yolk that’s sunnyside up), traveling upwards into the sky to hide behind the screen of clouds is an unforgettable moment.

Besides scenery, food is noteworthy.

The guard dogs are friendlier than they look

Eating lunch Yaki style involved grilling our meat at our table and being served a variety of side dishes delivered by:

Robbie or Roberta, our robot server

Another time I snuck away after our breakfast at a Hawaiian cafe to quickly explore a nearby beach:

I could easily spend more time at this beach park

Another highlight is being aware of the noticeable differences in culture. For one, cars are incredibly smaller. My 2005 Honda Civic would be considered to be a large vehicle.

considered a compact by
USA standards, my Honda
is practically in the luxury
model status in Okinawa
image: Wikipedia–small on the outside, yet surprisingly roomy on the inside

Cleanliness. Okinawa, Japan in general, is clean. Little, to no trash is evident, not because there is a surfeit of trash receptacles; it’s expected people deposit trash properly either at designated places like at the multitude of convenience stores or they take it home. Restrooms are clean and I am a definite fan of how the Japanese provide heated seats, with an option for waterfall sound effects.

image: daily mail
options, plenty of options

I also noticed an abundance of vending machines. They are found not only in front of stores, but in residential neighborhoods, even in unexpected places like seemingly abandoned lots:

Handy, I suppose…

I never saw anyone actually using these vending machines, causing me to wonder the viability of the goods.

Another cultural notable is clothing sizes. I needed to pick up a couple of warmer shirts and some leisure pants. My son took me to the local mall (that’s a post in itself) and I ended up buying extra large in size. I am a petite 5’3 and I felt hefty after trying on the available small.

Women’s Clothing Sizes: Japanese vs. Western

Japan35791113151719
U.S.002 – 44 – 6810121416
U.K.468101214161820
Italy363840424446485052
France323436384042444648
N. Europe303234363840424446
image: plaza homes (I should have consulted this article first

Cars are both tiny and in excellent condition. Unfortunately, Okinawa, for a small island, has a big vehicle problem. A combination of local commuters and military influence creates a snarl of traffic that turns what should be a 20 minute drive into 90 stop and go. Reminds me of Seattle’s 405.

not much of a difference is there?–except for the car size

One other aspect that I couldn’t ignore is how businesses insert random American words into their store names. Perhaps that is supposed to project an international appeal. A neighborhood store advertised itself as “Rolling Stone.” What it sold was a mystery.

I also discovered, after my suspicions were confirmed by my son, that the several hotels clustered together around the bend were indeed as they sounded:

Not exactly subtle
Yes, it seems to do brisk business

It was explained to me that Japanese children usually live with their parents until they marry at around 25. To get some privacy couples will book a room at one of the numerous establishments by the hour or for a longer stay. Christmas in Japan is celebrated more as a romantic getaway time with couples booking stays at resorts enjoying the festive lights and decorations.

While I appreciate my time with my son and his family, and aspects of the Japanese culture, I am a product of the USA and I am glad to be home. However, I really do miss those heated seats, especially at 3 am. Inland Northwest nights are unforgiving in that regard.

Posted in Reflections and tagged , , , , , , , ,
09 Sep 2015
8 Comments

And Now For Something Different in Playing Tag…


SFarnell tagged me and I’m both perplexed and delighted about it. I know that reading is right up there with feeding the mind and soul, yet I hadn’t quite made the connection that books can be considered food. The idea of this book tag is match a book to a pastry delicacy. That’s the delighted part. The perplexed part is that I am not much of a pastry foodie and only know a couple of the menu selections. Well, let’s just give it a whirl, anyway, shall we?

Here are the delicacies I do not know, so it’s hard to relate a book to something I’ve not actually tasted and so I will offer a possibility with no extra description (I would appreciate enlightenment of what these pastry treats are all about!):

Vol-au-vent: Name a book that you thought would be amazing but fell flat
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Pain au chocolat: Name a book that you thought would be one thing but turned out to be something else
I perked up at chocolat, but I am unsure how anything with chocolate in it can be anything else but tasty

Profiterole: Name a book or series that doesn’t get enough attention.
Quite clueless on this one, though I will offer the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde. They are hysterical.

Croquembouche: Name a book or series that’s extremely complex.
Pleading clueless once again as to the pastry–maybe C.S. Lewis’ Perelanda series? Lots of allegory going on.

Napoleon: Name a movie or TV show based off a book that you liked better than the book itself.
Oh my, I need to get out more. Napoleon had a pastry named after him? Umm, I did find the movie version of The African Queen to be much more satisfying in its conclusion. Plus I’m a Bogey and Katie Hepburn fan.

Empanada: Name a book that was bittersweet.
Finally one I’ve heard of, but mine wasn’t bittersweet. I would nominate just about any Dickens novel for this.

Kolompeh: Name a book or series that takes place somewhere other than your home country.
I can’t even pronounce it! How about Anne of Green Gables–love just about anything that’s British in setting.

Pate a Choux: Name one food from a book or series that you would like to try.
Nope, not trying anything that sounds like pate (I know what it’s made out of–thank you very much).

These I know! and can easily match them up to books.

Croissant: Name a popular book or series that everyone (including you) loves.

53367The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I didn’t discover this series until high school and I simply devoured it. Having become a devoted fan of the books, I was thrilled when a new adaptation came out (not the old BBC puppety try, thank you) I loved the first movie, and was sad when they stopped at only the third installment. Lewis presents such a grounded, yet fantasyic tale of magic and allegory. I can’t wait to introduce the books to my grandkiddo. This series seems to be part of most everyone’s childhood.

Macaroon: Name a book that was hard to get through but worth it at the end.

264

Henry James is not my favorite author, due to his long descriptions and the over-the-top drama that the heroines face. Truthfully, I only read the novel because it was on the AP Literature list and I had inherited 90 copies of them from the former teacher, so I wanted to see if I would offer it in class. I shall not. Was it worth it? I stuck with it only because I hoped she would show some gumption and stand up for herself. No spoilers. You’ll have to find out for yourself.

Now I will tag the following five bloggers whom I believe will have fun with this venture into delicacies and reading:

Jilanne Hoffmann

Vanessa-Jane Chapman

Britt Skrabanek

Letizia: 

Sarah Loudin Thomas

Now, I’m not sure what happens from here…read, eat, tag?

No obligations to partake, yet, if you happen to be able to describe these pastry wonderfuls to me, I would be both enlightened and appreciative.

Posted in Blogging, Books and tagged , ,
06 Jul 2014
11 Comments

Road Trip Reflections


It’s been about a week since I’ve been back from my Road Trip. Along the way I jotted notes and here’s what I came up with:


Reader Board: “without ice cream all would be darkness and chaos”

Rest stop bathroom poster: “no one should force you to work”–immigrant worker rights poster

Parking lot: one legged-seagull and a choir of grackles.

Dairy Queen: girl to grandpa–“how do they get the swirl on top of cone?”

Wireless Connect Option:
Drunkengiantgrogshop; dishonestdon–what neighborhood have I stopped in?

Window Shopping: seen on bib–“these fools have turned my super cape backwards.”

Coffee Shoppe: eclectic chairs and tables, tall ceilings, bookcase of children’s books, windowed playroom with dress up clothes, chalkboard walls, train set, kitchenette hutch. A brood of children frolicking while moms and dads read, deviced, paperworked. Lovely chocolate chip cookies too.


At the park: full out barbeques and families on a Saturday night

Dessert

Any guesses what this deliciousness might be? Oooh, yummers. Dark chocolate wrapped around cheesecake with raspberry crème garnish sauce. Note the in-house signature chocolates decorating the sides. Caloric penance.


At the restaurant: a dessert so beautiful I actually took a photo


In the parking lot: grated fern, a statement of deeper naturalism versus industrialism that Keats, Byron, or any of the Romanticist poets would have found poignant.

Trapped Fern

This can be viewed as either a poignant expression of nature being trapped by encroaching society or how nature finds a way to bloom amidst the trappings of industrialization. Or–isn’t that weirdly cool?


On the highway: no way, amazing, sleek as a Woolworth counter grilled cheese sandwich on a pastel Bakelite plate, a blast from the past–an actual Greyhound bus sporting a “hundred years” sticker to boot.

image: greyhound.com What are your memories of Greyhound?



In the motel room: white noise box with ocean waves, complete with seagulls scree; forest dawn, crickets and birds quite charming,; rain pattering, too close to home; fan, buzzy hum. A novelty never before encountered and even available for purchase. Tried it on first night and grandkiddo, the one who needs a minimum of two-three books, some conversation, and a bit of snuggling was out within two minutes of being lulled by waves.


Return home: a road trip is not complete without road construction delay. At one section the two lane highway is down to one lane and nobody is moving. Not no way. Not no how. Behind a little red car which is behind a huge white truck, yet from strained sneak peeks the road looks clear ahead. The MEPA is quietly muttering for  the car ahead to edge around truck. Finally it does, and like a cork popping from a bottle, traffic started flowing again. The problem? The exit ramp so full it flowed onto road. No flagger directing traffic, construction crew absolutely  clueless to havoc below on highway.

Dinner stop: connection with youngest progeny for dinner. Roadside grazing produces guilt to eat lightly–salad bar. Yet when it’s $12.00 though all one can eat, I strive to get my  monetary satisfaction. It is possible to overdose on greenery, especially when artichoke hearts and curried chicken salad are involved.

Rolling in late to home some 6 hours later than the Google Maps prediction: truly there is no place like home

 

Posted in America, children, Family, Reflections, summer, travel and tagged , , , , , ,
05 Jul 2013

Summer Read n Eat Poetry


Food and summer.  Yup.

Besides barbecue, picnics, reunions, vacation binges, craft fair nibbling, beach concession splurges and the like, there is also food found in our reading.  Take poems, for example.

This is just to say by William Carlos Williams

Watermelons by Charles Simic

Peach Blossoms by Carl Sandburg

A Ballad of Nursery Rhyme by Robert Graves

Orchard by Hilda Doolittle

Plums, watermelons, berries, peaches, oh my. Time to browse the Farmer’s Market!

For more summer foodie poems try this delightful site: TasteArt

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Posted in food, Poetry, Reading, Reflections, summer, Uncategorized, writers and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
24 Nov 2012
2 Comments

Trying the Tryptophan Diet


www.snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com (Photo credit: biggraham)

Post turkey day and after storing the leftovers in the fridg no one better better say, “Is there anything to eat?” I am learning that less is more as we get older.  By making less to eat at Thanksgiving there is more satisfaction and much more contentment.  It’s tradition to make my apple-custard pie and pumpkin pie. Who is the one eating it? Moi. The scale is snickering at how much weight I have regained since Wednesday.  Phooey.  The tryptophan diet isn’t for me, after all.

You see turkey contains tryptophan, which is what makes us sleepy after the big T-Day meal.  However, according to www.snopes.com that isn’t entirely true.  I was hoping if I ate enough turkey I would fall into a long, deep sleep and when I woke up the pie, mashed potato casserole, stuffing and all the other holiday caloric wonderments would be consumed so I wouldn’t eat them. However, I have learned that pumpkin pie is healthy for you.  Good.  Now, I don’t feel so guilty for having it for breakfast.  Wait–doesn’t healthy mean low calorie?

On a more positive note of gain is my NaNo novel.  I am now at 44,000 words with a week to go.  I think I’m going to make it.  Vera needs to get serious and start her own NaNo novel instead of procrastinating and watching movies with Simone.

I so enjoyed having Friday off; it’s like having a double Saturday.  Instead of Black Friday shopping I picked up two more books at the library and a stack of movies.  No lesson planning tonight.  Just my tryptophan hangover and a relaxing evening ahead.

Pumpkin pie, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...

Pumpkin pie, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pumpkin_Pie.jpg Scrumptious and good for you! Pumpkin pie is loaded with a healthful phytonutrient called beta-carotene. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Posted in Americans, Family, food, holidays, Libraries, Movies and tagged , , , ,
14 May 2012
4 Comments

Die(t) Trying


Once upon a time, wasn’t really that long ago, there lived a woman who possessed  a healthy, if not robust appetite.  This robust appetite possessing woman could match pizza slices bite for bite with high school dates, defied the fatal fifteen during college days, and prevailed flabby Mum Tum after baby days; however, once our heroine entered the dratted, scurrilous midlife sector, weight gain became a nuisance.

For instance, our once quick metabolism inclined heroine found out the following:

1.  Thinking about cheesecake earned .5 lb on the scaleometer.

2.  Eating two bites of actual cheesecake added a full 1.5 lbs–sans any topping.

3.  The expression, “if I ate that slice of cake I might as well apply it to my hips” suddenly had real meaning, and actuality

4.  The rule of consuming calories in relationship to burning them became a science rather than a magazine article to simply pass over for something more interesting

5.  bikinis are not meant to be worn outside the confines of the backyard

Our heroine also found an increased interest in “success” stories that graced pages of national magazines and bestsellers.  An almost morbid fascination and momentary inspiration to also obtain “results not usual” would overcome her desires for Haagen-Daz, Dove Bars, and cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.  That is, they would be tackled momentarily.

The truth, our heroine discovered, is that once born with the propensity to eat quantity, albeit not always quality, and not suffer for it, is a beastly habit to break.  Skinny jeans and crop tops were not initially the chief incentive.  It was the pursuit of gravity defiance that finally convinced said heroine to act responsibility towards food intake, because she noticed over the years body mass had begun sliding at an appalling rate.  Our heroine calculated at the rate of weight slide she would be the owner of hefty ankles by the time she reached retirement if the midsection weight slide were any indication of the future.

Hence, the DIET BOOK phase entered her life.  She would indeed enact the age-old saying, “Die(t) trying to lose weight.”

Books and magazine article began to lay about the house; yet, as these pound-shedding puntives increased in propensity in the library bag, the desired effects of weight dropping did not transpire on the bathroom scale.  This produced “major bummer syndrome” resulting in “what the flip?” rhetorical countersuit and freelance calorie consumption.  Midlife is not for sissies.

Studio publicity portrait of the American actr...

Studio publicity portrait of the American actress Elizabeth Taylor. Français : Portrait publicitaire pris en studio de l’actrice américaine Elizabeth Taylor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is no totally happy ending for our heroine.  She has not dropped the desired twenty pounds (a compromise weight); however, she is much more wise in terms of menu and choice.  After all, it is a well-known fact that Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were curvaceous and not svelte with power abs.  There is something to be said for padding.  The heroine learned to say sagaciously, “Why yes, I’ll have the sorbet, and could I have a box, please.”

Our heroine recommends the following diet books–not so much for the results attained, rather because the before and after photos of those who have actually adhered to the content’s regimes are impressive, and have proved useful in terms of thinking about exercise and caloric abstinence with more serious thought:

Posted in Books, food, reviews, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , ,
13 Jan 2012

Sufficient Grace


Sufficient Grace by Darnell Arnoult

Listening to the voices in her head Gracie Hollman takes off her wedding ring, snips her credit cards, jumps in her car, and leaves everything behind.  Her husband Ed, a solid, everyday kind of guy who owns a tire shop, is at first concerned about her absence, thinking foul play at first, but the abandoned credit cards and wedding ring make him think she’s left him for another man.  He didn’t see that one coming, especially after thirty years of marriage

The story centers on Gracie and how her decision to leave everything behind causes a ripple through several families.  Each family, and each person will find that things have a way of working out because grace truly is sufficient.

Darnell Arnout has created a mesmerizing work which explores grief and healing with sensitivity, insight, and humor. Arnoult masterfully mixes together a variety of characters, who at first have separate stories, yet by the end of the book they are all connected.

One of Arnoult most distinguishable style attributes is taking the everyday and spotlighting it into something  of phenomenal clarity.    For instance, Mattie is becoming increasingly handicapped by her inability to get past her husband’s death. At her family’s insistence she begins to clean out his closet. During the process Mattie tries on her husband’s shoes, reminicsing about much she misses how their feet would lightly rest together at night when they slept.

p. 162:

Mattie will give up the clothes.  She can do that.  She’ll let Sammy put them in some bin and let some other needy soul have them.  but she needs to walk in Arty’s shoes for a while.  Feel her skin slide over the place where his feet have been.  Just for a while longer. She’s got to keep those feet.

This book gave me encouragement to take a batch of people and tumble them together to get a kaleidoscope of character mixing.  I also gained an insight on how levity lightens serious topics.  And food. Writing about food somehow makes painful stiuations like grief, discord, and mental duressl seem so much more palatable.

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