the pine trees of southwest florida.

yea not really.

xmas tree of 2007? baby norfolk island pine

gigantor pine of some sort

weird wispy pine. called something asian-like

close up of semi-segmented needles.

momma osprey yelling at her grown baby that flies all drunk like

new years sushi

sushi prep! from left to right: satay sauce, avocado, red pepper, carrot, spinach, teriyaki chicken, satay chicken, spicy [not really :( just kind of pink] tuna

some of the sushi all rolled and cut. with a rather dull knife so im surprised it turned out so well. but it all eats the same, mangled or whole.

we were also treated to baked clams, little cream cheese endive boats, brie with apricot jam and crackers, and some scary pickled fish in white cream sauce. ...i didnt try it. after years of my dad pushing pickled herring as a "new years tradition" which sadly, only he follows, i figured, what's one more year i avoid the "good luck fish"

washed down by an amazing strawberry beer, made in upstate new york of all places

later on [we had to stay up til midnight, thus fortifications were necessary] there were ice cream sundaes

and $6 champagne. "real" champagne is [aside from out of my price range] really nasty, bitter, and dry. champagne and sherbet is an excellent combination, idiot-proof to make, and even taste approved by my mother!

buon anno!

happy blue moon new year!

kimchi with jim

after inspiration from his favorite cooking magazine, my great uncle jim came up with a new idea for our holiday cooking project. kimchi! which is especially fitting since the roommates and i have been considering making it for the past...3 months. aside from some minor setbacks, no korean hot pepper, a rotten napa cabbage, and slight misunderstanding of directions, kimchi madness ensued! check back in 4 days for more craziness and taste-testing.

napa cabbage enjoying a salt bath

daikon and carrots

massive amounts of ginger, garlic, dried chili pepper, "kimchi base" ie sauce sort of used in kimchi but with absurd levels of msg and fish sauce, and some rice wine vinegar for extra liquid

de-salted cabbage after a quick bath

second to last step: slather cabbage with pungent paste
last step: cram in jar with julienned veges and cover. pray to avoid explosions

the kimchi patiently awaiting its 4 day re-emergence into society. by that time it will have fermented, halved in size, and hopefully become unbelieveably spicy. mmmm.

pies!

family tradition dictates more homemade pies than people. unfortunatly since pies only came from once source we were lacking a bit. but we certainly put a christmas day hurting on those that were present.

from top: cranberry raspberry, pecan [pronounced pi-cahn not pee-kaan], and apple

mmmmm gooey cranraspberry goodness

i can't bring myself to make a pecan pie. what with a cup of corn syrup... but ill definitely eat my share of someone else's pie.
apple made with golden delicious

the sad remainders of the cranrasp which were finished today. turns out cranberry raspberry pie goes very well on top of homemade lemon bars.