Travails of travel make being home a pleasure
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 11:13 PM PDT
By Don Fuller, columnist
Printable version
E-mail this articleWe just got back from spending two weeks in Southern California -- San Diego for five days and Los Angeles for the remainder.
In San Diego, we depended on travel guides and brochures for our decisions of what to do. We enjoyed the weather and the compact nature of the city. Public transportation and taxis are easy to use and inexpensive, so it made traveling to Old Town, Balboa Park and the Gas Lamp district pleasant and stress-free.
From San Diego we took a train to L.A. to attend an Elderhostel about the art collections and great museums of the Los Angeles area.
One of our early thoughts was to take the Amtrak train from Kelso to San Diego and then go by air back to LA and home. The cost was more than we wanted to spend, however, and 30 hours on a train seemed excessive. Instead, we took the train from San Diego to L.A.
The route was supposed to provide grand vistas of the Pacific shore and beaches, but much of the view has now been blocked by residential housing going on for miles along the seashore, allowing us only occasional views of surfers, beaches, and shoreline.
We arrived at the Glendale depot, the closest one to our hotel, to find that the station had no services and no access to public transportation. If we hadn't taken a cell phone, we would have had a difficult time contacting a taxi since there were no telephones and no nearby commercial area.
We did get a taxi and marveled at the traffic, even on the weekend. From that point on, we were in the hands of the Elderhostel staff and traveled from the hotel to art museums in a large comfortable bus.
The Elderhostel experience brought to mind how much more you gain when you have experts to give you background before visiting a museum, and docents to take you to the highlights of the collections and explain the artists' intentions. Not knowing much about the museums' beginnings, I was unprepared for the history of the founders of these museums. Their lives were full of personal tragedies, greed and misuse of power.
But enough of why museum history is not dull. I need to tell you about this week’s recipes.
To wander and travel is great fun, but being back in our kitchen is a great pleasure after an absence. I'm sharing several recipes, including one for stir-fried meat and vegetables. We enjoy flank steak, but to slice it thin can be a challenge. To make the job easier, have the meat half frozen and use a sharp knife which makes thin slicing a breeze.
The other trick for stir frying is to have the ingredients cut, measured, and prepared ahead of time. At the time of actual cooking, I set things up on the counter in the order in which they are to be added to the wok or fry pan.
Finally, I grow tired of the endless numbers of lettuce salads, so I'm sharing an apple salad recipe. Even at this time of year, apples can still be crisp, providing a good salad ingredient.
Back in Longview, and back in our kitchen, I'm reminded of Judy's oft repeated poem: You may travel east; you may travel west. But to be at home is the best.
STIR FRY FLANK STEAK
1 pound flank steak, sliced thinly at angle against the grain
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 cloves garlic, sliced to dime thickness
3 green onion stalks, cut in 1 inch slices, using some of the green part
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Mix flank steak slices with soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch in a bowl. Set aside. Heat vegetable oil in a wok or heavy fry pan until almost smoking. Add garlic and onions and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add meat and stir fry until browned. Serve with rice and stir-fried vegetables.
-- Adapted from a recipe found on internet at http://jenyu.net.fd/recipes
VEGETABLES WITH CHINESE SEASONING
12 or more baby carrots, sliced lengthwise
1/2 pound small button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced in 1/2-inch rounds
2 green onions cut into 1-inch pieces
16 small snow peas, ends snapped off
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in 1 tablespoon water
Sauce
1/4 cup sherry
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Drop carrots into 1 quart rapidly boiling water. When carrots brighten, transfer to ice water with a slotted spoon to chill, then drain and pat dry. Set carrots with zucchini, green onions, snow peas, and mushrooms aside.
Prepare sauce in a small bowl, combining all sauce ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.
Just before cooking stir cornstarch to remix. Set aside.
Place wok or 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add garlic, oil and 1 tablespoon butter. When garlic sizzles, add all of the vegetables, Cook, uncovered until vegetables brighten, about 2 minutes.
Add sauce, then lightly thicken by stirring in a little of the cornstarch mixture. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining butter. Serve immediately.
-- Adapted from "Pacific Flavors," by Hugh Carpenter, 1998
APPLE AND WALNUT SALAD
2 Granny Smith or other tart apples, chilled
2 red delicious or other sweet red apples, chilled
1/2 cup sherry vinegar or cider vinegar with 2 tablespoons dry sherry added
1 cup chopped celery
3 scallions (green onions), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup broken walnut halves
4-5 tablespoons walnut oil or vegetable oil
Core and chop apples but do not peel. Toss apples in bowl with the sherry vinegar. Add celery, green onions and walnut halves; drizzle with 4 tablespoons of walnut oil and toss again. Taste and correct seasoning adding more vinegar or oil, if necessary. Serve immediately.
-- Adapted from a recipe of Karen Pickett, Longview.
Don Fuller, an avid cook, retired as dean of instruction at Lower Columbia College in 1998. Reader can reach him at The Daily News, P. O. Box 189, Longview, WA 98632 or by e-mail at df1013784@uid.onemain.com.
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