September 2009: To Northern California and back

I'm even further behind than my wife, who I don't think has posted anything from our Christmas vacation yet . . . Nonetheless, I'm going to wander out of scope slightly again for a moment, but it's food related, so I think it's close enough.

We went to Northern California in mid-September, and of course, you can get some amazingly fresh food out there. It's no exaggeration to say it's the source of some of our country's loftiest food ambitions in the last 40 years, so I left feeling satisfied that I finally saw it firsthand. And though we only passed through the tip-top northern end of it, I think the Central Valley is fascinating in a macro-social, political economy sort of way.

Over on the coast, we (I) sought out some fresh oysters from Hog Island Oyster Company. After reading a number of blogs treating the place as a savvy notch in their food-embroidered belt, it seemed too predictable and obligatory to be an un-self-consciously enjoyable experience. (It was also my first time shucking oysters, so I wasn't too adept). But I have to admit, it was still unique and pleasurable for a landlocked desert-dweller.

We also stopped at one or two wineries. Here, Josephine among the grapes at a winery just north of Boonville in the Anderson Valley, where the locals have their own dialect of English ("Boont" or "Boontling" -- look it up . . . )

When we got back to Austin, I had a couple spaghetti squash ready to pick/cook, and my parents had recently brought some beef sausage from Green's Smokehouse on their way down to see us.