As most everyone knows San Diego is burning, again. I've been glued to
the news while our electricity is on. The high Santa Ana winds have
prevented any air attacks on the numerous fires that have been burning
out of control. Today helicopters and tankers are able to get in the
air, great news for us.

Kirk at http://www.mmm-yoso.typepad.com has maps and detailed
information. I don't need to repeat what is only a click away. Kirk
was kind enough to e-mail me this morning making sure I was o.k. and
to offer assistance if needed.

I am feeling grateful and guilty, so many have lost so much. I'm sick
at heart for my fellow San Diegans that are effected by these fires. I
have been within minutes of evacuation myself, several times, thank
God I've been spared.

When the goin' gets tough I comfort myself with preparing food. There
is something about preparing food, the planning, chopping, slicing and
dicing that gives me comfort. It makes me feel like I'm "doing"
something when I can't really "do" anything. I'm not hungry, I just
cook. I've made a few meals with flames cresting the hills too close
to us with ashes falling on us.

Yesterday I busied myself and juiced the little calamansi. They are so
small I was able to juice them two at a time.
http://i20.tinypic.com/2iht75h.jpg

I now have 1/2 cup of lime juice.
http://i20.tinypic.com/29lmm1z.jpg

I also had some fresh baby ginger that I needed to take care of so I
chunked it up and put in some sherry to preserve it. That went into
the fridge. The pieces that didn't fit into the jar I grated on the
ginger grater, that and it's juices went into the freezer.
http://i24.tinypic.com/20zr4nl.jpg

We were without electricity most of the day. I waited a little too
long to start making a pot of vegetable soup, comfort food, and most
of it was made in the semi-dark. I had some bok choy, celery, onion,
carrots, sugar snap peas and green beans.
http://i23.tinypic.com/4javc7.jpg

The greens were added the last few minutes along with some dark red
kidney beans.
http://i21.tinypic.com/sls3g0.jpg

I used the thyme mix I bought at Parsian Mkt.
http://kokoscorner.typepad.com/mycor...n-interna.html
It is delicious. It contains: Thyme, vegetable oil, spices, sumac,
roasted sesame and salt. I was tempted to eat some right out of the
bag it is so good.
http://i21.tinypic.com/aninph.jpg

Eating in the dark is a whole different experience. I was more aware
of textures, taste and the size and shape of the food.
http://i23.tinypic.com/2yose29.jpg

Thank you to everyone for your concern for San Diego residents. Please
keep us in your prayers and good thoughts. I'm blessed, me and my
family members still have our lives and homes.

koko
---
http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 10/23

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw

<koko> wrote in message


> Eating in the dark is a whole different experience. I was more aware
> of textures, taste and the size and shape of the food.

Thank you Koko. That was lovely!

It reminded me of a horrible storm our first winter in our house. The ice
took out multiple trees which took out power lines and even the power posts
in some spots. We were without power for 3 days in an ice/snow storm. The
first day, you couldnt even get down the street to get out and get
anythjing. My father in law has a generator and drove as close to our place
as he could get, and we met him there with Charlotte all bundled up. He
took her home with him.

We were very glad we had a functional wood burning fireplace and plenty of
wood! We draped the hall and the kitchen (opens to the livingroom) with
everything handy to make a 'wall' to hold in the heat. We drained all the
water lines. Unlike many of our neighbors, we had no damage due to frozen
water lines. Just issues with a kiddie potty <grin>.

I have cast iron skillets and we learned to cook some basics over the
fireplace. A neighbor loaned us a device called a 'spider' which sits over
the fireplace grate and you can cook on it. He didnt have a fireplace (his
camping gear) and but had a place to stay with friends. We paid him back by
replacing his toilet when frozen water caused the base to crack.

We wrapped up in every blanket we had and lit candles everywhere (hobby of
mine, we make our own). It was in retrospect, pretty romantic <g>.

By the second night, we had guests in sleeping bags with their older kids
all over the living room floor. Not everyone could afford a hotel (we
couldnt with being new homeowners) and our fireplace was maintining a decent
enough 60F inside. We have a tight neighborhood. Later, folks even bought
us a cord of firewood.

I noticed when we came back that my neighbor with the spider has moved on,
but the spider is in my garage with a note: Use it well as i know you will,
thanks from Danny.

People are doing things like that all over San Diego.

On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:15:47 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> wrote:

>koko dropped this : in
>rec.food.cooking
>
>>
>> I am feeling grateful and guilty, so many have lost so much. I'm sick
>> at heart for my fellow San Diegans that are effected by these fires. I
>> have been within minutes of evacuation myself, several times, thank
>> God I've been spared.
>
>I've been watching in awe at the destructive forces you all have been
>dealing with. My thoughts and heart go out to all of you. I don't *think*
>any of my family members have been in danger. Yet anyway. I've got a call
>out to a cousin but he's in London right now. I don't know if his home has
>been destroyed or not. Several friends are in the affected areas but so
>far they have been spared.
>
>Michael

I just got an e-mail from Charlie Gifford. So far he is ok but he
realizes if things change him home is gone since he lives in a canyon.
He will be going to central California tomorrow for a planned
activity.

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:07:37 -0500, The Cook >
wrote:

>On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:15:47 GMT, "Michael \"Dog3\""
> wrote:
>
>>koko dropped this : in
>>rec.food.cooking
>>
>>>
>>> I am feeling grateful and guilty, so many have lost so much. I'm sick
>>> at heart for my fellow San Diegans that are effected by these fires. I
>>> have been within minutes of evacuation myself, several times, thank
>>> God I've been spared.
>>
>>I've been watching in awe at the destructive forces you all have been
>>dealing with. My thoughts and heart go out to all of you. I don't *think*
>>any of my family members have been in danger. Yet anyway. I've got a call
>>out to a cousin but he's in London right now. I don't know if his home has
>>been destroyed or not. Several friends are in the affected areas but so
>>far they have been spared.
>>
>>Michael
>
> I just got an e-mail from Charlie Gifford. So far he is ok but he
>realizes if things change him home is gone since he lives in a canyon.
>He will be going to central California tomorrow for a planned
>activity.

thank you for posting that. I thought he was in a relatively safe
area.

koko
---
http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 10/23

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw

Lovely photos, koko. I will cross my fingers and hope the fire does not
come near you. In Texas and Louisiana, I lived near the Gulf Coast all
my life, and each year I had to worry about hurricanes. Since I moved a
few months ago, this is the first year I have been free of that worry. I
hope you find that freedom some day.

Becca

On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:22:49 -0700, koko wrote:


>>
>> I just got an e-mail from Charlie Gifford. So far he is ok but he
>>realizes if things change him home is gone since he lives in a canyon.
>>He will be going to central California tomorrow for a planned
>>activity.
>
>thank you for posting that. I thought he was in a relatively safe
>area.
>
>koko

How about all the other rfc folks in southern Cal? Anyone heard from
Kimberly/Nexis? I forget who else is in that area. Dimitri?

Christine

Christine wrote:

>>> I just got an e-mail from Charlie Gifford. So far he is ok but he
>>> realizes if things change him home is gone since he lives in a canyon.
>>> He will be going to central California tomorrow for a planned
>>> activity.
>>
>> thank you for posting that. I thought he was in a relatively safe
>> area.
>>
>> koko
>
> How about all the other rfc folks in southern Cal? Anyone heard from
> Kimberly/Nexis? I forget who else is in that area. Dimitri?

I looked at the RFC map and was most worried about koko; I'm glad to hear
she's all right. Looking at that same map, Nexis is shown right by SDSU;
that area hasn't been endangered by the fires. Anybody heard from the
Bartos? They're shown in a very bad area.

Bob

On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:05:44 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>Christine wrote:
>
>>>> I just got an e-mail from Charlie Gifford. So far he is ok but he
>>>> realizes if things change him home is gone since he lives in a canyon.
>>>> He will be going to central California tomorrow for a planned
>>>> activity.
>>>
>>> thank you for posting that. I thought he was in a relatively safe
>>> area.
>>>
>>> koko
>>
>> How about all the other rfc folks in southern Cal? Anyone heard from
>> Kimberly/Nexis? I forget who else is in that area. Dimitri?
>
>I looked at the RFC map and was most worried about koko; I'm glad to hear
>she's all right. Looking at that same map, Nexis is shown right by SDSU;
>that area hasn't been endangered by the fires. Anybody heard from the
>Bartos? They're shown in a very bad area.
>
>Bob
>

I was wondering about them too. Such a lovely,lovely house they had,
and they had just finished it shortly before the 2003 fires. I looked
at the maps and wondered if Poway was in that bad area.
I had been worried about Koko and Charlie too.

Who else is down that way?

Christine

Christine asked:

> I looked at the maps and wondered if Poway was in that bad area.
> I had been worried about Koko and Charlie too.
>
> Who else is down that way?

I remember someone being in Oceanside. Google turns up the name Chuck
Kopsho, but he hasn't posted recently. Then there's ensanadajim, who seems
to spend lots of time there. Other than that, I think we've mentioned
everybody in the area.

Bob

On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:11:20 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:05:44 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:
>
>>Christine wrote:
>>
>>>>> I just got an e-mail from Charlie Gifford. So far he is ok but he
>>>>> realizes if things change him home is gone since he lives in a canyon.
>>>>> He will be going to central California tomorrow for a planned
>>>>> activity.
>>>>
>>>> thank you for posting that. I thought he was in a relatively safe
>>>> area.
>>>>
>>>> koko
>>>
>>> How about all the other rfc folks in southern Cal? Anyone heard from
>>> Kimberly/Nexis? I forget who else is in that area. Dimitri?
>>
>>I looked at the RFC map and was most worried about koko; I'm glad to hear
>>she's all right. Looking at that same map, Nexis is shown right by SDSU;
>>that area hasn't been endangered by the fires. Anybody heard from the
>>Bartos? They're shown in a very bad area.
>>
>>Bob
>>
>
>I was wondering about them too. Such a lovely,lovely house they had,
>and they had just finished it shortly before the 2003 fires. I looked
>at the maps and wondered if Poway was in that bad area.
>I had been worried about Koko and Charlie too.
>
>Who else is down that way?
>
>Christine

I heard from the Bartos a few days ago and they were fine at the time.
They said they'd keep in touch. The last I heard parts of Poway were
letting the evacuees back in so I'm confident they are fine.

I heard Charlie was fine. The others that I am aware of are in safe
areas.

We are on evacuation at any time notice. Because of that our 5th wheel
has to be hooked up and ready to go with short notice, so it is un
level, the slide outs are in and anything that could be tossed around
while on the road is packed and all over the place, it is close to
unlivable. I wanted to pull out and just go a few miles east but Stan
wants to stay put as long as possible. He sent me to go visit with
friends in Yuma AZ for a few days.
I spoke with him this morning. It was a little dicey last night but he
said things are looking better today.

koko
---
http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 10/23

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw

koko wrote:

> I heard from the Bartos a few days ago and they were fine at the time.
> They said they'd keep in touch. The last I heard parts of Poway were
> letting the evacuees back in so I'm confident they are fine.

I just checked the Bartos' web site and they've got pictures of the fire,
along with these comments:

"All the houses were saved. Note that the fire helicopter did a remarkable
job of getting water out of Poway Lake and dropping it on the fire."

So I infer that they're okay and their house was spared.



> I heard Charlie was fine. The others that I am aware of are in safe
> areas.

I believe Charlie posted here before he went out of town.



> We are on evacuation at any time notice. Because of that our 5th wheel
> has to be hooked up and ready to go with short notice, so it is un
> level, the slide outs are in and anything that could be tossed around
> while on the road is packed and all over the place, it is close to
> unlivable. I wanted to pull out and just go a few miles east but Stan
> wants to stay put as long as possible. He sent me to go visit with
> friends in Yuma AZ for a few days.
> I spoke with him this morning. It was a little dicey last night but he
> said things are looking better today.

I'm glad to hear it!

Bob

On Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:19:41 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>koko wrote:
>
>> I heard from the Bartos a few days ago and they were fine at the time.
>> They said they'd keep in touch. The last I heard parts of Poway were
>> letting the evacuees back in so I'm confident they are fine.
>
>I just checked the Bartos' web site and they've got pictures of the fire,
>along with these comments:
>
>"All the houses were saved. Note that the fire helicopter did a remarkable
>job of getting water out of Poway Lake and dropping it on the fire."
>
>So I infer that they're okay and their house was spared.
>
>
>
>> I heard Charlie was fine. The others that I am aware of are in safe
>> areas.
>
>I believe Charlie posted here before he went out of town.
>
>
>
>> We are on evacuation at any time notice. Because of that our 5th wheel
>> has to be hooked up and ready to go with short notice, so it is un
>> level, the slide outs are in and anything that could be tossed around
>> while on the road is packed and all over the place, it is close to
>> unlivable. I wanted to pull out and just go a few miles east but Stan
>> wants to stay put as long as possible. He sent me to go visit with
>> friends in Yuma AZ for a few days.
>> I spoke with him this morning. It was a little dicey last night but he
>> said things are looking better today.
>
>I'm glad to hear it!
>
>Bob

Thanks for the information Bob.
I'm back home now. We are still on voluntary evacuation notice but I'm
thinking that will be lifted soon. The air is clear with just a hint
of smoke smell but no ashes are drifting around.

Thanks to all for caring.

koko
---
http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 10/23

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw