What more can a Martian Dad expect for Fathers' Day?

Well, like every other dad, Fathers' Day is the one day that I look forward to all year. This Fathers' Day could not have been better. Mrs Martian and I went over to my daughter's house. She organized a BBQ. Her husband made sure everything went right. We had some juicy hamburgers courtesy of my son and my daughter made some wonderful corn on the grill. Ingredients in the hamburger: spinach, onions, queso, oat meal and eggs. The corn was cooked on the grill wrapped in foil. She threw in some butter and spices. Yummy!!!

I know it's Fathers' Day and I am not supposed to do anything. But yesterday, Mrs Martian and I went to the Farmers' Market. So I got some fresh fruit and served with my favorite ice-cream: pistachio. Nice way to end a great meal.

And how can I forget the great Fathers' day present? They got me a Breville Variable Temperature Electric Kettle. Just what I need for a quick cup of Long Jing or Pu-errh tea.

To all the dads out there: Happy Fathers' Day!

Back with ratatouille

I have not posted anything since March. The last few months have been tough. Mrs Martian and I were affected by the recession like everyone else and it has been hard to focus on a blog. Well, things are better. Hopefully, I'll be able to write more often.

The topic this time is a ratatouille. It is summer and lots of fresh vegetables at our local Farmers' Market in Poway. It also reminds Mrs Martian and I of the wonderful time we had during our trip to Provence a few summers ago.

It's now 277 days to Christmas!

The Christmas pudding sat in the fridge for 2 days. Yesterday, I took it out and stirred it. Today is the big day - cooking the pudding.

Christmas is only 279 days away!

It is very important to get ready for Christmas early. And I don't mean shopping!

This year, I am following an old English tradition and making a Christmas Pudding. Technically speaking, I am already late since I should have done the first step right after New Year. But would an extra 80 days make a huge difference? I hope not.

What's wrong with our oranges, San Diego?

I love the new KPBS!

For those of you who do not live in San Diego, KPBS is our local public broadcasting station. Recently, they started a new approach to reporting local news that puts their reporters and their work on TV, radio and the web. No more radio only or TV only reporting. The piece they did recently on local food is proof that this approach is working. I heard them talking about it on the radio so I decided to watch the 30 minute documentary they did on the source of food in San Diego and later went online to get more details. The one piece of information that shocked me: San Diego county exports 95,000 tons of oranges while importing oranges from Florida, Australia, Peru, and other places! Why? The reasons given are that we do not like the color of our local oranges, they are hard to peel, and they have too many seeds.

The whole thing boggles my mind!

So I decided, like many KPBS viewers, to do my own experiment.

Chai Tea Creme Brulee

I wanted to post a recipe that is both easy to make as well as different enough to impress your dinner guests. After some head scratching, I decided on a Creme Brulee that my daughter made during a charity benefit for the Elizabeth Hospice a few years ago. At the time, she was working for a chef at a now defunct Escondido restaurant.

I like the enhancements she made to a simple creme brulee recipe. She added Chai tea to the custard to give it a wonderful taste. And she prepred the creme brulee in an eggshell making for a very unique presentation - little golden jewels hidden inside the eggshells.

The best place for tea in San Diego

Like all Mauritians, I grew up drinking tea. Most Mauritians drink it in the morning and they always serve it when they have visitors. The locally produced tea, Bois Cheri, is a black tea. I still remember how it was prepared: add the tea to a saucepan full water, bring to a boil, then add sugar and milk. Lots of sugar! Mauritians love their tea sweet. Not for me though. By the time I left home for my university studies, I had already switched to coffee that I drank black with no sugar.