Friday, December 23, 2016

What a beautiful city

Paris is beautiful under any light but it's even more wondrous in interesting light.




 

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Wildlife refuge

It is hard to believe but the Jamaica Wildlife Refuge is in New York City. Located in Queens it is part of the National Seashore and is close to  Rockaway Beach and across the bay from Kennedy Airport. It makes for a wonderful escape from the pressures of urban life and hassles.




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Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Foggy weather

Here in Corvallis Oregon the weather is rather moist and foggy but it allows me to take a few interesting shots.


Italian regional dishes

Italian food is regional food although there are some least common denominators it's best to call Italian cuisine as regional  cuisine. Here we have three regional dishes. Pasta alla Norma named after the Great composer Vincenzo Bellini who was born in Catania, Sicily and loved this dish so it was named after Norma, one of his best opera. The aria Casta Diva when sung by Maria Callas leaves one awed.  This dish was prepared in Sicily with the local eggplants and tomatoes that are to die for. The Salade Nicoise is also Italian from Nizza a region that was always Italian but was ceded  to France by that poor excuse of the Savoy king of Piedmont who was fooled by Napoleon III for help that was never given.  The area is still somewhat Italian  and much of the food is Italian in flavor and style. This salad is a meal in itself. The pesto alla Genovese is of course the famous pesto sauce that is very popular these days. Nothing compares to the real one of course and to be authentic, the  water must have a potato cut in small pieces and a few string beans along with the pasta. Splendid and actually simple but you need  the basil from Genoa,  the olive oil from Liguria  and the Parmigiano Reggiano from Parma to really pull this dish off. Italian food is after all a celebration of nature. It's magic reveals itself omlu if the finest and freshest ingredients are used.

Pasta alla norma


Pesto alla genovese


Salade nicoise

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Lago D'Orta

This is the smallest of the famed Italian lakes in northern Italy i.e. Lake Como, Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. However it is truly beautiful and not over developed. The town of Orta is a charming  place worth a visit.




Sunday, December 18, 2016

Fall splendor