Noticing the Northwest - dweaver3's Blog - The Bakersfield Voice

Cucumber Salad Recipe

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:47:35 PST

Cucumber Salad With Radish and Dill
This was pretty yummy — crisp and fresh and flavorful. I didn't realize cucumbers still grew this time of year, but that's the beauty of living in the breadbasket of the state!

1 English cucumber or 3 Kirby cucumbers, halved lenghwise, seeded, thinly sliced
4 large radishes (about 6 ounces), thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
6 ounces feta cheese, coarsely crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill, plus more sprigs, torn, for garnish
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

Put cucumber, radish, and lemon zest in a medium bowl, and add cheese.
Whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, dill, sugar, and garlic in another medium bowl, whisking until sugar has dissolved; season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
Add vinaigrette to cucumber mixture; toss well. Garnish with dill. Discard garlic clove before serving. Refrigerate salad in an airtight container up to 1 hour.

Silent Film at the Granada Theater — 25 October 2008

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:23:48 PDT

On Saturday my son and I had the opportunity to check out the Granada Theater in Old Town Kern to see an old Buster Keaton film, "One Week." The theater is a small one, but surprisingly large. It's rarely in use, but a lady we stood behind while in line for popcorn told us it's an annual occurrence that is usually spread by word of mouth. This year The Bakersfield Californian did a write-up on the event so word got out more than usual — hence the crowded theater. If I hadn't seen the article in the Friday paper, I wouldn't have know about the film.

The theater's owner, Jim Spohn, is an organ fellow and the theater is his pet project. He gave the audience a brief history lesson in silent films in relation to organs, then demonstrated the Granada Theater organ. The organ pipes are situated in rooms to the sides of the audience with shutters that open and shut for greater or lesser effect. Atop one of the rooms were additional instruments that are connected to the organ: a drum, a xylophone, a glockenspiel, and others. You can sort of see the pipes through the slats and the silhouette of instruments on top.

The film was originally situated in two 10-minute halves with an intermission in between. At the Granada, we saw all of it together with fantastic accompaniment. What an experience! When looking for "One Week" on YouTube, I was only able to find the two halves of the movie. It's worth watching! Keaton was an incredible commedian and this movie is quite sophisticated.

Garlic Sautéd Wax Beans

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:16:05 PDT

In an attempt to avoid wasting the delicious, organic, locally-grown yet unfamiliar goods in my Abundant Harvest basket each week, I've decided to try new recipes and get aquainted with new foods. Wax beans for instance. How different from green beans could they be? Delightfully different — these beans had a lemony taste, and I found myself enjoying each bite!

• 1/2 pound wax beans, ends trimmed
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Parsley, minced

Steam or boil the beans for 5 minutes, then drain.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the garlic, cooking for a minute. Add in the beans and sauté for a minute before adding the parsley. Cook for a minute more than shift to a serving plate.

Grand opening of the Surface Gallery

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:37:40 PDT

Last Friday after work and school, my son and I made it to the grand opening of the Surface Gallery, 1703 20th St. The show was particularly significant for us because Vikki Cruz, Liz Sherwyn and Brent Eviston have been Armand's art instructors at the Bakersfield Museum of Art summer art camp for the past two years.

The theme of the show was paper, and each artist portrayed paper in his or her own unique way. Every piece offered a unique and clever point of view.

We enjoyed catching up with old friends and taking in very good art — the Surface Gallery is truly a credit to Bakersfield. It was exciting to participate in the opening of a gallery that promises good work!

Trying out a two-wheeler

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:31:54 PDT

My son Armand hasn't spent as much time riding a bike as I did as a kid — but times are different, and so is our lifestyle. However, this summer he spent two weeks with his grandparents who excitedly decided to teach Armand how to ride a two-wheeler. It was a great plan as far as Armand was concerned — at 7, anything related to "big kids" is a winner in his book!

When the big day arrived, he donned helmet and shin guards and his Oma took him out for his first session. It was hard! Perserverence isn't exactly the hallmark of the young, let alone the younger generation, so Armand will be working on his biking skills some more in the future. In fact, as soon as we can get his bike from his grandparents (and when I get a bike for myself), I forsee many lovely fall Saturdays and Sundays spent exploring the fantastic bike paths around town.

A Wonka Weekend

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:52:31 PDT

Last Friday my son and I decided to watch Tim Burton's 2005 "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" in order to refresh our memory. Since we planned to see the 1971 "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with Gene Wilder on Saturday, we wanted to be ready to compare the two movies.

We enjoyed the opportunity to compare the movies, though we have yet to compare both movies to the book by Roald Dahl. Both movies had the same characters and oompaloompas, a boat, a waterfall. They both movies had similar problems, such as being sucked up a pipe, going down a garbage chute, turning into a blueberry — but in the Gene Wilder movie, Charlie and his grandfather stole a drink that made them float up by a fan (but they burped and fell down just in time). What I particularly enjoyed about both movies was that each Willy Wonka seem benignly odd — perhaps just a bit disturbed.

I'm grateful that the Fox Theater is offering this free summer series of films — it's a great way to stay cool and share some local heritage with my son. Imagine if the Fox Theater offered a double feature every Saturday — or even some cartoons!

Weekend O Fun

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:35:59 PDT

Last Saturday my son and I had a full schedule. Not only did we attend the Book Blast at Pioneer Village, we caught a double feature at the Fox Theater: "Madagascar" and "The Wizard of Oz."

What's great about the Book Blast is that kids can write down about 10 books they've read so far this summer, and they get into the event for free. At various spots throughout Pioneer Village, members of the community read books to small groups of kids. At the end of the story, each kid gets a ticket and can enter drawings for prizes at the end. It's pretty exciting when it's prize time!

At the Book Blast, we checked in with friends from work and rode the train. In between stories we mingled among the buildings of Bakersfield past. The weather wasn't as hot as it had been at previous Book Blasts, so everything was quite pleasant.

One of the neatest features of the event was the wandering magician. Several times we'd spotted him doing a show, but usually at the end. Finally we caught him and my son was amazed by the Chains of Doom.

Then we were off to the movies!

Finding parking near the theater was a bit tricky, so I was sure we'd have a hard time finding a seat. However, the air conditioning was broken, which must have deterred some of the crowd.

The house kindly offered a free soda per ticket stub, which went nicely with fresh popcorn - I'd forgotten how delicious theater popcorn can be!

We watched "Madagascar" from the balcony then switched to the first floor to watch "The Wizard of Oz" — and what an experience it was!

Both movies were fun to see in the theater, but "The Wizard of OZ" was magical! The special effects were excellent given the technology of the time, and the editing really is clean. Never before had I seen it on the big screen, and it made such a difference! Most of all, it was really fun to hear the audience around me reacting to the movie. (Plus the couple in front of us shared popsicles they'd brought along - just when I was really wilting!)

At the end of the movie, everyone clapped and it was applause full of excitement and appreciation for having witnessed such iconic American culture on the true silver screen. I am so grateful to have had the chance for Armand to see "The Wizard of Ox" in such a neat theater. Thanks Fox Theater!

Party shoes

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:46:44 PDT

These are the shoes I recently blogged about. I'll be going back to Plato's Closet soon and often! They made the outfit I wore to my friend's birthday party last weekend. You can sort of see them in this picture my son took of me.

Trying a new dish

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:15:59 PDT

Work on Wednesday was pretty hectic, and I had computer fatigue by the time I left to pick up my son. I then shuttled us off to Plato's Closet, since I'm on the hunt for the perfect pair of shoes for my friend's birthday party on Saturday.

After browsing as long as my son would allow (and after finding a great pair of sandals), we moved a few blocks down Ming Avenue to try out Izumo Sushi. Their miso soup was so-so and their edamame seemed a bit over cooked, but it was yummy.

We ordered crab, tuna, and freshwater eel sushi. Armand quickly devoured his crab and enjoyed the tuna well enough, however, I couldn't help but be amused by the way he peered at the eel! It was quite delicious and I look forward to eating it again. Armand even tried a bite, but I think trying something so different and new was a bit overwhelming for him.

Overall, I'm glad to have tried a new restaurant with my son, and quite glad that we had a decent, healthy, very tasty meal for two that came to only $13. I didn't have to do dishes!

My Danish friends Jane and Jan (both sushi enthusiasts) emphatically recommended a place in town called Kato Sushi, which features a sushi happy hour. I'll have to take them up on that soon. Maybe Armand will like their eel — yearh right!

After reading "The Invention of Hugo Cabret"

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:10:16 PST

After reading Courtney Warren’s review of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” I promptly checked it out from the Beale Memorial Library and began reading it with my 6-year-old son.

Courtney’s book review was right on - both my son and I became entranced! I particularly enjoyed the author’s amalgamation of text and illustration echoing the theme of cinema.

Learning about an influential filmmaker through a fictional storyline made the history of French and American film quite compelling. It’s amazing to think of the special effects pioneered in early film – and stunts performed sans CGI. It was hard to explain to my son how significant Georges Méliès’ cinematic experimentation was, but it was an excellent opportunity to introduce him to early footage via YouTube.

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret” is now a part of our library. Many thanks to Courtney for her book review — I’m looking forward to reading the book from her recent review of “Eulalia!”

Here are some shorts the reading Hugo led us to explore:

Drums, dancing and fry bread

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:27:36 PDT

On Saturday, July 14, my friend Susan and I took our sons to the Cal State Bakersfield Indigenous Native American Club's Luta Sah-can-skaw Circle on the CSUB campus. The event was held to provide cultural awareness with dancing, native arts and crafts, native foods and family fun. Free bottles of water were handed out - just what we needed to combat the heat of the day!

After browsing through the booths and running into friends, we settled down in the shade to partake of fry bread. It was a first for me and a fabulous experience! When the drumming and dancing began, we gravitated towards the area listening to cadences of drumming and singing while dancers moved around their circuit.

We're looking forward to the next Native American Club event.

Embarassing moment - Sesame Street memories

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 11:37:16 PDT

My most embarrassing moment (at least the first one that comes to mind) is when I was about 9 and playing with My Little Ponies. There I was singing little songs and narrating adventures for my equine action figures when I noticed my dad watching me play from around the corner. Suddenly my solitude was shattered by a crashing sense of self consciousness! It's funny how small instances shape self identities — or get remembered as embarrassing.

Now I listen to my son narrating adventures for his trains and singing songs from school, and I understand how charmed my dad was as he listened to me. Ah, the endless and fascinating facets of life!

Since others have contributed Sesame Street memories, here's my favorite: the pinball-machine-counting-to-12-song. It's hard to describe so check out the video! When I get together with my sister, Emily, we end up reminiscing and usually sing this song.

Searching for a composting gardener

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:54:42 PDT

When I had access to a garden, composting was a must. I love the idea of turning seemingly insignificant scraps of broccoli stalks, bread crust, and potato peels into a nutrient rich substance that benefits a vegetable or flower garden.

Now that I’m living in an apartment, my garden space has been reduced to three widow boxes and two pots of herbs — and no space for composting. Vermicomposting could be an option, but I’m a bit wary of starting such a complex project.

Are there any gardeners out there who have some vermicomposting tips or who would accept food scraps into their compost bin?

Any tips to offer on container gardening?

In search of compost

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:36:25 PDT

Christmas spirit took me by surprise

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:06:56 PST

While waiting for a light on the Truxtun Extension Friday morning, I noticed a woman getting out of her car to talk to the person in the car behind her. Was it an altercation? Had they been in an accident? Then men from two other cars got out and walked towards the woman’s car, compounding the mystery.

Suspense evaporated into relief as I watched the woman’s car effortlessly gliding through the intersection, propelled by multiple bodies. It turns out that the woman’s car had died on her in morning traffic. Surrounding drivers actually hopped out of their own cars to help move her car. The entire feat was even accomplished before cross traffic became delayed.

As I drove on, I was struck by this example of generosity and Christmas spirit. Yet if the same problem had presented itself at any other time of year, I’m sure people would have been just as selfless and helpful. Still, I’m harboring this manifestation of humanity as part of the season’s charm — and I’ll think of it fondly throughout the year.