tasting by sight

from Hong Kong Fusion, Haddon Heights/Cherry Hill, NJ Region: fried ice cream with a cake-like crust--sweet but light, melting with each slow chew; mushrooms, noodles, green beans--tasty, savory with gentle service for a foodie's soul. We ate the dessert after the entree, but you could go for dessert first and have fun with your palate.

If you visit the area, or live somewhere close, don't miss this gem for a filling and affordable meal that beguiled my sous-chef son who said "this is the most imaginative and delicious Chinese restaurants I have been to and worth flying across the country to eat at again."

http://www.hkfrestaurant.com/

eating at El Corral at 93

This is a picture of dear old Dad, celebrating his 93rd birthday with a "mud pie" at El Corral in Tucson. He had just finished off five grilled shrimp and two rolls, loaded with butter before digging into this dessert. Yes, he has five stents to keep his clogged arteries going but he only got them at the age of 91! I can't imagine how many burgers, fries, salami sandwiches, Dairy Queen sundaes, and (since moving to the Tucson area with mom), Lucky Wishbone fried chicken he has devoured over the years.

Now, with the UA Basketball season winding down, I suspect a wave of depression may set in before (I hope) he can transition to a season of pool exercises at Cascades where he lives. Kermit sang, "It's not easy being green..." and others have lamented "it's not easy getting old." I see it in every visit I have with my dad: it's not easy to witness how a man--who, at 5 a.m., used to shovel snow off of our house roof in Elgin, Illinois and then go to work at Hillcrest school to shovel snow and ice off the sidewalks so the teachers and kiddies wouldn't slip and slide--now has to push his walker to the dining room. But he does get there to where he needs to go and so, when these birthday milestones roll around, we put on our birthday celebration faces and call out to the cosmos that yes, this son of Italian peasant parentage, continues to enjoy the just desserts of his life.

And: here's the link to El Corral: http://www.elcorraltucson.com/lp.html . We enjoy the food, the rustic western atmosphere and the sense of Tucson-time that this 1930s heritage place brings to our eating experience.

attitudes and actions

I am sharing this link because, as it happens today, my daily literature reminded me that the ONLY things I have control over are my attitudes and actions. So, keeping that in mind, here are word shifts that can reframe both: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/become-more-optimistic-6-tricks.html

And "here's looking at you" on 3/1/12, Arizona Inn