Crepes Chez Kowawa

recipe for "Crepes Chez Kowawa" (my dessert crepes recipe)

1.25 cup flour
1 egg
2.0 cup milk
1 oz melted butter
2 pinches salt

optional but recommended:
3 tblspoons sugar
2 splashes of coconut rum

Put dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix 'em up. Add the egg and butter, and with a wooden spoon incorporate all the flour. If you need to, add little splashes of the milk. Once flour is incorporated, with a whisk beat vigorously, adding slowly remainder of the milk, and the rum. Let the mixture sit for 1 hour in the fridge before preparing the crepes using a crepe pan. Can double the recipe if desired and save extra batter in fridge for 1-2 days. Beat well again prior to cooking.

Dr. Kowawa's Crepe Suzette recipe

Prepare crepe batter as per above. Will also need:

1 Orange
4 tablespoons sugar
2 oz butter
2 splashes of Cointreau

Zest Orange and press for juice. Simmer for 5 minutes with all the above ingredients. Done while preparing each of 4 crepes: place crepe in simmering mixture and fold it into 4. Repeat for all crepes as they come off the crepe pan. Once done may make a Flambee by pouring ~1 tblspoon lighted Cointreau on each crepe.

6th Anniversary

Had a wonderful full-day date to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. Started off the day with a delicious breakfast at our favorite local family-run Carpinteria restaurant, Esau's. The interior of this place is all surfing theme. There are several surfboards hanging in the dining area, and many paintings and photos of surfing, and continuous video footage of surfing legends. The food was delicious. I had a "gnarly burrito" and Sweewawa had a smoked salmon omelette.

Then headed off for Stand Up Paddle Boarding near the Santa Barbara Harbor, a first for us! We fell a bunch (me a lot more than Sweewawa) but the wetsuits were warm and it was a blast. Started to get the hang of it pretty quickly. SUP is decidely even more fun than ocean kayaking. First of all, the challenge of keeping your balance is quite invigorating, and once you get good enough at it the feeling of standing and paddling along the gently moving waves is quite relaxing. You really get a great view doing SUP. The picture below is right where we were paddling -- absolutely gorgeous stretch of coastline right near the Santa Barbara harbor. Definitely excited to make this be one of our regular sports.



After working up a mean appetite, headed to Cold Spring Tavern, a unique establishment I have been wanting to try since even before we moved here a year ago. I thought this place would be perfect for our anniversary, and it was.

Cold Spring Tavern was built in the 1860's as a way station for stage coach travelers as they made their way across the San Marcos Pass. This now paved road is what we use to travel from Santa Barbara over the Santa Ynez mountains to get to Lake Cachuma and the Santa Ynez Valley wine country beyond. The buildings, decorations, and the surrounding nature really make you feel like you are experiencing an untouched piece of history. Dining here is the first time we had had this feeling since enjoying Honey Mead by candlelight at the Fleece Inn in Bretforton, UK (in the Cotswolds). As if this wasn't enough, the food was delicious. I had charbroiled new zealand rack of lamb with champagne - mint glaze -- nom nom nom nom. Bar-b-que baby back pork ribs, which was also excellent.



After our early dinner there was still plenty of natural light. We rode our "stagecoach" back over the San Marcos Pass and decided to take the scenic route past the Santa Barbara Mission. Took a romantic stroll along the Mission Rose Garden before heading home.



What a day!

Lemon Bars

Recently tried this lemon bars recipe using lemons from our own small lemon tree. Delicious. Can't wait until the next couple of lemons turn yellow. Click on the pic below for the recipe from joyofbaking.com!

Favorite books

All-time favorite books I've read:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
by Robert M. Pirsig



Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
by Douglas R. Hofstadter



The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self & Soul
by Douglas R. Hofstadter



The Chronicles of Narnia
by C.S. Lewis



The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien



The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams



The Collected Dialogues of Plato



The Complete Pelican Shakespeare



Miles Davis, The Autobiography



Tao Te Ching
Translated by Man-Ho Kwok, Martin Palmer, and Jay Ramsay
Calligraphy by Kowk-Lap Chan



Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley



Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury



books to read / re-read in future:

Journey to the West
by Wu Cheng'en (Author), W.J.F. Jenner (Translator)



Atlas Shrugged
by Ayn Rand



The Analects of Confucius



The Book of Chuang Tzu
Translated by Martin Palmer with Elizabeth Breuilly



The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell
by Aldous Huxley



The Digital Photography Book volume 1
by Scott Kelby



The Digital Photography Book volume 2



Jean Christophe
by Romain Rolland



Stalking Microbes
by Richard P. Wenzel, M.D.

Favorite Recipes

Appetizers:

Artichoke Dip

I tried this recipe when our old friends Jason & Erin came to visit us from Seattle, it was a hit, I definitely want to make it again.

Makes about 4 cups, can serve in ~2 cup portions baked.

1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts
1 cup of parmesan cheese
1 cup of mayonnaise
ground pepper
splash of white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
a little olive oil
1 cup of finely chopped onion
small amount of bread crumbs

Combine mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and onion in a bowl. Drain the artichoke hearts really well, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Mince using food processor, and add to bowl. Add pepper and mix in to the point where you can still see it's presence in the large mixture. Add 2-4 tablespoons of white wine based on preference. This mixture can sit in the refrigerator for a while. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spoon the mixture into a small baking dish (I used a small circular ~2 cup glass dish). Sprinkle enough bread crumbs to just cover the surface. Then add dashes of olive oil on top. Bake for ~25 minutes until bread crumbs are very brown and the entirety of the mixture is bubbling noticeably. Serve with crackers or toast. Enjoy!

Main dishes:

Cuisinart Rustic Tomato Sauce

http://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/sauces/5922.html

Pineapple Steamed Rice

. . . recipe to be added!

Spaghetti a la Carbonara

. . . recipe to be added!

Sweewawa's Flounder Noodles

. . . recipe to be added!

Sweewawa's Japanese-style Salmon

. . . recipe to be added!

Mark's Miso Sea Bass

. . . recipe to be added!

Coq au Vin

. . . recipe to be added!

40 Clove Crockpot Chicken

. . . recipe to be added!

Ribified Soupification

. . . recipe to be added!

Pineapple Fried Rice

. . . recipe to be added!

Pesto

. . . recipe to be added!

Favorite Libations

For fun here's a list of some of my favorite beers in the world. Will update this as I experience new ones! Cheers, Dr. Kowawa

Beers:

IPAs

Island Brewing Company's Island IPA -- from our local brewery in Carpinteria, CA this is one of my favorite IPAs. In winter / spring also try their seasonal Big Island Double IPA.

Dogfish Head -- 90 Minute IPA -- a front-loaded, powerful yet refined IPA deserving of the praise it has received

Bear Republic -- Racer 5 IPA -- found this one at my local Capital Ale House in Richmond, VA and fell in love . . .

Lagers

Grolsch Lager -- the beer with the funny stopper has the skunky goodness; this one is one of Dr. Sweewawa's favorites too

Samual Adams -- Brewer Patriot

Pilsner

Pilsner Urquell -- this Czech beer is one of the best in the world

Ales

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale -- one of the best beers from the California region, mellow delicious

Boddington's Pub Ale -- this ale from Manchester, UK has a unique in-the-can widget that aerates the beer on pouring giving it the characteristic creamy head and smooth body

Anchor Steam Christmas Ale -- every year the folks in San Francisco create a new recipe for this christmas offering, for the purpose of "joy and celebration of the newness of life." It's always a winner.

Miscellaneous

Kasteel Triple -- this is an amazing Belgian beer I first tried at (of all places) a Vietnamese retaurant in Richmond, VA called Mekong. Simply amazing, one of the best beers in the world

Van Steenberge's Piraat -- another very special Belgian beer that we tried at the Mekong restaurant. Wow!

Favorite Champagne

Piper Heidsieck -- enjoyed a bottle of this fine champagne with my parents to celebrate finishing my 3rd year of medical school!

Cabernet Sauvignon

Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 -- this wine costs about $10, is from the Lake County region (nestled between Sonoma and Napa), and has delightful hints chewy fruits

Chateau Diana 1221 Cabernet Cuvee -- blend of Sonoma and Napa grapes, complex nutty fruity flavory with persistent pleasant finish

- find link for Chilean Cab, "Natura"

Pinot Noir

Freestone Vineyards 2008 Fogdog Pinot Noir -- "has an intense perfumed bouquet of violets, red cherry, tangerine, spice and black tea, with subtle hints of roasted coffee and creamy oak in the background" ... really enjoyed this one, though pricey at $30 a bottle