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what do women want?

what women want? It all depends on who they are!
what women want? It all depends on who they are!

In a letter to Marie Bonaparte, close to his death, Sigmond Freud wrote:

“Die grosse Frage, die nie beantwortet worden ist und die ich trotz dreißig Jahre langem Forschen in der weiblichen Seele nie habe beantworten können, ist die: Was will das Weib?”

a very rough translation would be:

“The big question that has never been answered in spite of my nearly thirty years on the subject is what do women want?”

With a wife and three daughters, this is the question that haunts me at birthdays, anniversaries and, yes, at Valentine’s Day!   When I first met Laura, we were both 17 and her favorite cuisine was pop tarts washed down with a slug of Tang.  Well, she was 17. Since then we have discovered many interesting foods from around the world that she has favored, but to find one is a challenge… and on Valentine’s Day, it’s important to get it right.

The answer came by following the fusion example of South Africa and combining a few worthy items. Laura loves scallops and pasta. She has also become fond of a South African curry sauce I make with Peri Peri and about a dozen spices that make the curry. Fortunately this was relatively dietetic as well and delicious!

So, women may not be so simple in reading their desires as in reading the hopes and wishes of men, but when in doubt… ask them!  😉 … or fix them a South African gastronomic experience worthy of connoisseurs!

Roger Freberg

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marinating, grilling lamb for sandwiches

the marinating of the lamb
Marinating Lamb for use in sandwiches makes all the difference

A while ago I wrote about the challenges of marination and tenderizing meats. The tougher the meat, the more important this process is for producing a result that everyone might enjoy. Lamb has always been one of my favorite dishes… but not Laura’s. I always wondered why? Not long ago, I realized that she hadn’t tried it since she was young and was served a very chewy piece. So, I decided to produced a nice lamb sandwich to reintroduce her to this wonderful meat.

The marination process is important and I thought I’d throw the kitchen sink at this task by using Kiwi fruit, pineapple and Papaya! Can we have some now? I love a sweet marinade with a bit of a bite, so here is what I used:

Sherry, Soy Sauce, and Olive Oil, lime juice

honey

garlic, green onion

basic spices: cumin, pepper, chili, salt, cinnamon, coriander, cardamon, fenugreek, turmeric, fennel, cloves, ginger

sliced lamb
sliced lamb

Part of the challenge for making a great lamb sandwich is in slicing the lamb thinly prior to marination ( most people know that a thick piece of meat seldom allows the marination to reach the center of the section of meat). Many cooks will say that after the marination, take the lamb to the grill!!! Interestingly enough, placing your marinated lamb on a ‘George Foreman” grill gives great temperature control and perfect results.

… and Laura changed her mind, she loved her Lamb sandwich. Next, whole lamb on a spit!

Roger

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squeezing beer from a fossil

Here I am drinking a nice beer made from yeast that originated 45 million years ago. CLICK on the picture above to read more

There is a little known secret hereabouts and it is about a wonderful new beer. As many people who know me are aware, I don’t have the opportunity to have a beer as much as I would like to, but the other night introduced me to something special.

Laura and I had the opportunity to dine at  Gennaro’s in San Luis Obispo ( yeah, I know there is one by the same name in New York) and it was a fun evening. Their Cuban Pork , mashed plantains and vegetables was delicious.  One of the gentlemen there was a professor named  Raoul Cano who has many accomplishments related to research into ancient DNA. I believe he was even a consultant on the movie “Jurassic Park”.

However, we are more interested in the Eocene Epoch a time in which the yeast — we are most interested in — originated. The Beer had a nice flavor with just a hint of lemon, and I enjoyed a second for purely scientific purposes. Each sip was better than the last.

I hope this new brewery does well… this is definitely something to be shared with friends!

Roger

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it all starts with speaking freely

FIRE President talks informally at Cal Poly on the need and the value of free discussion, open minds and free speech in American Universities.

It all starts with the ability to speak freely and openly on the issues of the day. To much progress and ultimately happiness has been lost throughout history by those who crush the ability of others to speak in order to protect their views. Convert to my way of thinking  or die is not a new concept but an ancient one.

Last night, FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) President Greg Lukianoff discussed what free speech was and what it wasn’t. He regaled the audience with unfortunate stories of students that suffered serious abuse at the hands of administrators and it was unpleasant to hear. The most pointed reminder he gave was to remind us that these were all people expressing their right to speak and their lives could have been ruined without outside intervention.

Greg Lukianoff reminded us that although there are NOW more than a dozen GREEN light free speech schools when once there were none, there are still a couple thousand public colleges and universities that are failing to live up to the rights set forth in our Constitution.

Cal Poly has come a long way from the RED light school it once was and it was often commented that they were given their own attorney for a reason, but that is slowly changing. Today, they are a Yellow Light school and with just a slight more movement they could be GREEN.

It should be ‘easy been Green.’