Pic Today 8/26/11

SOMETIMES

FOOD IS LOVE

My dear friend, John (from Sicily),

prepared the most beautiful gift for me.

He baked home-made lasagna (from scratch),

the sauce, the pasta, the herbs,

and made it for my birthday.

What a loving gift.

It was indescribably delicious.

Where do you buy gifts like that?

Where do you find friends like that?

Sometimes, food is love.

Thank you, John.

Pic Today 8/25/11

SIGNS OF LIFE

AT THE OLD LEMP BREWERY

Founded in 1838, the Lemp Brewery was once

one of St. Louis' original and most famous breweries

(a rival to the giant Anheuser-Busch empire).

The original brewery complex (27 buildings & grain silos)

still stands, and some new tenants are residing within,

and underneath!

The brewery was built upon a complex of natural caves

which were used for the lagering of beer

by early German brewers. These chilly caves were attractive

to early brewers, before the advent of refrigeration.

There's a tavern now on the ground floor of the brewery,

serving local beers. (How appropriate!)

And starting in the 90s -- the 1990s --

there's even been some rave parties underground.

(How cool! Literally.)

The original Lemp name and brand eventually

became the Falstaff Brewing Company,

which finally closed in the late 1940s.

Pic Today 8/24/11

A GREAT "PEAK OF SUMMER" SALAD

Two farm fresh items are at their peak . . .

watermelons and tomatoes.

And their combination makes a fantastic summer salad.

Cut up a plump watermelon, medium pieces

(still warm from the field) . . .

grab some vine ripened tomatoes (red and yellow),

add a green one too, for color . . .

core and chop into bite-size pieces . . .

toss with chunks of goat cheese and fresh basil.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil,

and VOILA!

The combination is fantastic,

and a celebration of the best of a late summer harvest.

Pic Today 8/23/11

TROPICAL PLANTS

BIGGER THAN YOUR CAR

Giant "elephant ears" plants

(colocasia gigantica)

can easily get bigger than you,

bigger than your car.

The warmer the temperature,

the faster the "ears" grow.

And these giants can easily reach 8-ft tall!

The bulbs of this tropical plant

have long been used to produce the traditional

Polynesian (and Hawaiian) food staple, poi.

The roots are pounded and boiled to make this creamy starch.

If you've ever been to an authentic luau

no doubt you've been offered

"two fingers of poi".

Looks yummy, doesn't it?

(...er, maybe not.)

Pic Today 8/22/11

PREHISTORIC HAND TOOL

FOUND IN PERFECT CONDITION

It's amazing, but this stone hand axe

was found in the Sahara Desert last year,

lying on top of the sand by Bedouin travelers

in the desolate region of Mauritania

(western North Africa.)

Remarkably, this prehistoric hand axe

is in perfect condition, and is estimated

to be 75,000 years old. Beautiful, too.

(It still holds a sharp edge!)

Early modern humans emerged at that time,

and used this tool for cutting meat and animal hides.

At that time, areas of the Sahara were tropical and forested,

covered with swamps, lakes and rivers.

Today, as the desert sands shift with the winds,

stone artifacts and tools are often exposed on the surface.

(I doubt any of our modern tools would survive that long.)