jZepp
https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/
We blog the world. jZeppelin is a global community blog about food, drink, music, art, and culture. We are looking for contributors from every corner of the globe. Do you blog, write, cook, paint, or photograph? Contact us and become a contributor today.en-US2006-06-13T21:36:48-06:00One of these days...
https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/2006/06/one_of_these_da.html
Hello, JZepp readers. I'm Tim and I'm a wine geek. Nope, not somewhat new to the party like my blogging buddy Beau, but a guy who got the wine bug 25 years ago while in college near the Napa Valley....<p>Hello, JZepp readers. I'm Tim and I'm <a href="http://winecast.net">a wine geek</a>. Nope, not somewhat new to the party like my <a href="http://basicjuice.blogs.com/basicjuice/">blogging buddy Beau</a>, but a guy who got the wine bug 25 years ago while in college near the Napa Valley. But that's not why I've decided to blog here for the first time tonight. </p>
<p>When I finally said I wanted to contribute here, almost a year ago, I thought I would write my first post about music and wine. At the time, a new CD from Neil Young - an artist I've followed almost obsessively since 1976 - was just out and my plan was to blog about each song and pair a wine with them. How wine geeky is that? Well, so much so that I thought better of it until this evening. </p>
<p>You see, the CD in question is the great, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AXSN5G/sr=8-1/qid=1150255636/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2009956-6399134?%5Fencoding=UTF8">Prairie Wind</a>," and today the movie version was released entitled, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F48D00/qid=1150255636/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/104-2009956-6399134?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130">Neil Young: Heart of Gold</a>." As I blog this entry, I'm watching the DVD (well sort of, anyway) and listening to an impassioned live performance of all the songs on the CD (or "album" if you are as old as me). Not only is Jonathan Demme a great film director and music lover, but he has reinforced his reputation as the best concert film practitioner. Yea, I know, he's only done two concert films, but both are the high watermarks of the genre along with the controversial Martin Scorsese picture, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00003CXB1/qid=1150255788/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2009956-6399134?s=dvd&v=glance&n=130">The Last Waltz</a>" (ironically featuring a coked up performance by Neil from back in the day).</p>
<p>So what wine goes with such viewing? I'd have to give the nod to the great grape of Burgundy, Pinot Noir. The particular example I'm enjoying as I watch this performance is from <a href="http://www.willamettevalleyvineyards.com/?s=home">Willamette Valley Vineyards</a>, their 2004 "Vintage Selection" Pinot Noir that will set you back about $22 or so. It's got everything you would want or expect in a fine Pinot Noir: the brilliant ruby color, black cherry and earthy 'Pinot funk' aromas and satisfying, if not a bit tight, black cherry and raspberry flavors with sleek tannins. I'd give this one a bit more time in the cellar and drink up the 2003 while I wait for this one to smooth out. Somehow, the aggressive attack and slightly closed flavors seems just about right for Neil right now... pick up both if you are so inclined. </p>
<p>Cheers!
</p>Musicwinecast2006-06-13T21:36:48-06:00Spring celebration time
https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/2006/04/spring_celebrat.html
Most cultures in the northern hemisphere seem to have a celebration of spring. In my mind, that's the one thing that the Gregorian calendar got terribly, terribly wrong: it reworked the start of the year into the dead of winter...<p>Most cultures in the northern hemisphere seem to have a celebration of spring. <br />In my mind, that's the one thing that the Gregorian calendar got terribly, terribly wrong: it reworked the start of the year into the dead of winter instead of spring, where it belongs.</p>
<p>I took a walk near the water today, and found a kildeer and her nest.</p>
<p><a onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=640,height=426,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false" href="http://basicjuice.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/kildeereggssm_1.jpg"><img width="200" height="133" border="0" src="https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/images/kildeereggssm_1.jpg" title="Kildeereggssm_1" alt="Kildeereggssm_1" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;" /></a></p>Culturedigiteyes2006-04-15T19:34:18-06:00The Chopstick Chronicles: Kumquat: The Dwarf Orange of China
https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/2006/03/the_chopstick_c.html
by eating china On the day of Chinese New Year's Eve, just as I was leaving our local produce market, a car swerved towards the curb. I noticed the car because it pulled up with a jerk just a couple...<p> <img width="400" height="148" border="0" alt="Kumquatscloseup_1" title="Kumquatscloseup_1" src="https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/images/kumquatscloseup_1.jpg" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;" />by <a href="http://www.eatingchina.com/">eating china</a></p>
<p>On the day of Chinese New Year's Eve, just as I was leaving our local produce market, a car swerved towards the curb. I noticed the car because it pulled up with a jerk just a couple of feet from a family trying to cross the road. The driver bolted from the car to a stall in front of the market. The back seat of her car was already packed with groceries. Clearly, it seemed, the banquet that evening for her large extended family, was her responsibility. She had stopped at the market for a last minute purchase. When I say, 'a car swerved towards the curb', towards is all I mean, as there remained between the curb and the side of her car, enough space for a skilled driver to manoeuvre another very compact car, such as a Mini. A couple of minutes later she rushed back carrying a potted kumquat bush bearing dozens of tiny orange fruit. She placed it on the passenger seat beside her and drove off, ether oblivious or unconcerned at the line of cars she had been blocking on the narrow street behind. I was glad I didn't feel as harried as she looked, but I was only cooking for three while she might be cooking for thirteen, including a domineering mother-in-law.</p><p>Just before Chinese New Year fruiting kumquat bushes can be seen for
sale all over Taiwan. Because the ripe kumquat (cumquat) symbolizes
prosperity, Chinese like to give the plants to relatives and friends.
My own potted tree never seems to bear fruit at this time. This year,
as we saw in the Year of the Dog (February), it was blossoming, and so
we will have to wait until late April for fruit. Fortunately the
prosperity faculty of kumquats applies all year round, not only to the
New Year period. Supposedly. A couple of years ago, when I pointed out
our tree, heavy with ripening fruit to my wife, she was nearly gleeful.
We were going to have a fantastic year she announced; a year in which
everything goes well, a year of great health and happiness, a year when
the heavens rain great bounties down on our humble heads! That sounded
ridiculous, but not so ridiculous as to prevent me making a mental note
to start buying weekly lottery tickets. In the final rinse, that year
did turn out relatively calamity-free, but the only real bounty I
recall was an abundance of kumquats, which, ironically, my wife finds
too sour to eat. Who knows, perhaps things might have been different if
mental note to self regarding lottery had not been forgotten as soon as
it was filed.</p>
<p>The kumquat plant was originally assumed to be a citrus but was later revealed to have a somewhat simpler structure than citrus and was alloted its own genus, Fortunella, after well-known Scots botanist <a href="http://www.plantexplorers.com/explorers/biographies/fortune/robert-fortune.htm">Robert Fortune</a> who first bought the kumquat from its native south east China to Europe in 1846. </p>
<p>
There is something oddly amusing about the name kumquat, which derives
from Cantonese, gam gwat, Just the thought of the fruit brings out the
worst of puns in me: kumquat may (come what may). Unlike oranges,
lemons and grapefruits, the kumquat has never really achieved
mainstream market acceptance. It has remained on the fringe – a
cutesy-wutesy, doll's house fruit. </p>
<p>
The small size of the thorny evergreen kumquat plant makes it ideal for
urban gardeners with limited space – which describes about 99 percent
of Taiwanese urban green thumbs. The wonderful thing about the kumquat
bush is that it will bear fruit more than once a year if the weather is
warm enough. The fruit grows to about 3 cm (1 inch) round. With thin,
finely textured peel, and tiny seeds, kumquats are normally eaten
whole, peel, seeds and all. The taste runs quite tart – the peel is
sweeter than the fruit itself. As far as I can tell there are two basic
varieties in Taiwan: round (Marumi F. japonica Swing), and oblong
(Nagami F. margarita Swing). Except at New Year when the fruit is left
on the bush to ripen fully, the round type is usually sold green or
semi-ripe, and is used to make kumquat tea. The oblong fruits are
sweeter and are eaten ripe.</p>
<p>
Health-wise, kumquats house a good measure of vitamin C, plus
potassium, and beta-carotene. And because the fruit is usually eaten
whole, there is an extra nutritional boost from the peel and seeds.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, kumquat helps eliminate
phlegm and is a good remedy for a sore throat or a nagging cough. Last
week I happened to be down with a cold myself, and the two or three
pots of kumquat tea I drank did seem helpful. Chinese pharmacies sell a
traditional throat lozenge made of dried kumquat peel. According to
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0806963085/australbikebook">Henry C. Lu</a>, the fruit, prepared in specific ways is also useful in
treating indigestion, whooping cough, hernial pain, ad poor appetite.</p>
<p>
In Taiwan kumquats are also sold dried, and used to make preserves. I
was once given a bottle of kumquat sauce, though I was at a total loss
as to how to use it, and still am. Kumquat assumes its major role at
any of Taiwan's thousands of tea shops and tea stands in the form of
kumquat tea.</p>
<p><strong>
How to make kumquat tea</strong><br />
10 kumquats<br />
Honey or rock sugar (optional)</p>
<p>
Wash kumquats well – do not peel. Slice in half. Squeeze most of the
juice from each piece into the pot, then toss the peel into the pot For
a sweeter drink add some honey or rock sugar. Pour boiling water into
the pot, steep for a few minutes and serve.</p>
<p>
Resourses<br /><a href="http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/kumquat.html">
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/kumquat.html</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumquat">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumquat</a><br />
<a href="http://www.kumquatgrowers.com/what.html">http://www.kumquatgrowers.com/what.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.phoenixtropicals.com/citrus.html">
http://www.phoenixtropicals.com/citrus.html</a> </p>FoodStephen Jack2006-03-30T00:24:38-07:002 Days in Montreal (Simplified)
https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/2006/03/2_days_in_montr.html
Drive six hours north. Roam around the shopping malls. Meet friends at L’Express. Drink Sancerre rosé. Watch with awe as Caveman eats plate of raw ground beef. See Salon des Vins. Attempt to talk with vintners. Crap, I don’t speak...<p><span style="font-family: Arial;">Drive <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Montreal#by_car">six hours north</a>.<o:p></o:p></span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Roam around the <a href="http://www.out-there.com/qc12sh.htm">shopping malls</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Meet friends at <a href="http://www.montrealfood.com/restos/lexpress.html">L’Express</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Drink <a href="http://www.winetours.co.uk/wine-notes-eastern-loire.htm">Sancerre rosé</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Watch with awe as <a href="http://thecaveman.blogspot.com/">Caveman</a> eats<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_tartare">plate
of raw ground beef</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">See <a href="http://salondesvins.com/english">Salon
des Vins</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Attempt to talk with vintners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crap">Crap</a>,
I don’t speak French!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Walk and <a href="http://www.montreal.com/tourism/topatts.html">see some sights</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Feast on raw fish at <a href="http://www.montrealenlumiere.ca/english/table/action.lasso?&-response=DetailsImpTable.lasso&-Token.NoLieu=383">Juni</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Drink <a href="http://www.esake.com/Knowledge/Types/types.html">junmai sake</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u1:p></u1:p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />Savor warm <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croissant">croissant</a>.<o:p></o:p></span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hop in car. Plug in <a href="http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T9846LL/A">iPod</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Drive six hours home.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">-- <a href="http://basicjuice.blogs.com/basicjuice/wg_reviews/index.html">WG</a></span></em><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><strong><o:p></o:p></strong>
</p>ArtCultureDrinkFoodMusicbeau2006-03-28T17:26:56-07:00Red Tail/Winter Day
https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/2006/02/red_tailwinter_.html
<p><a onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=640,height=617,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false" href="http://basicjuice.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/redtailstorm.jpg"><img width="310" height="300" border="0" src="https://basicjuice.blogs.com/jzepp/images/redtailstorm.jpg" title="Redtailstorm" alt="Redtailstorm" /></a>
</p>Artbeau2006-02-20T07:38:33-07:00