We've been away in Boise for a week or so, and while we were there we made sushi. This made me think of that Entree story you wrote about"hack sushi" -- which is what you are really doing when you make sushi at home, you informed us, because in Japan sushi is like an art form and people who make sushi can be named National Treasures or something.But my brother, Dave, is pretty good at it. So we rolled up some sushi. First thing I discovered is that if your rice isn't of even thickness, your pieces of sushi come out all lopsided, which really looks lame.
My dad refused to eat the eat the sushi. "I don't eat seaweed," he told us, though he doesn't have any problem with raw fish. Anyway this was all great fun, and I kept thinking you would have enjoyed thewhole scene and been right in the mix, arguing with my dad about seaweed -- and any number of other things -- because we all always argue with my dad -- about pretty much anything.
The same night we made sushi, we also made pizza (why not?). We had this cheese-making kit that you may be familiar with. It's thecheese-making kit they use in that Barbara Kingsolver book "Animal,Vegetable, Mineral." You can make your own mozzarella in 30 minutes (with some help from a microwave). If there were some late great Japanese sushi chefs rolling in their graves that night, I can only imagine what the European cheese-makers were thinking. "My god, I zpend my whole life learning to make ze cheese, and look at you -- 30 meenutes? -- I cannot even bear to see zis ..." Yes, the moz was not so good -- but maybe someday you'll decide to write an Entree story about this cheese-making kit: Hack Cheese. Or perhaps not.
Anyway, I hope you will be comforted to know that we did try to keep the proper respect for the great food traditions of the world even as we were desecrating them. Thanks for writing that article about sushi. Otherwise, I never would have known. You should be a National Treasure. You certainly are a Eugene Treasure.
I hope the treatment doesn't have you feeling too crappy these days,but I know you're tough enough, whatever the side effects.
Oh! My hair started falling out again. This was not intentional.Yesterday Jamie noticed that I have this little bald spot on the topof my head, the size of a thumbprint. I had one once before on theback of my neck that got to be about the size of a half-dollar. Joel always used to ask about it and I never knew what to say. Just arandom bald spot. It went away eventually -- but it took almost twoyears. I don't know if your chemo is going to do anything to yourhair, but fuck hair anyway.
-- Bob
4 comments:
Bob, how come your hair falls out whenever your wife is pregnant? Subliminable hair stress messaging? Unconscious nighttime follicle removal? Bald-baby empathizing? What's the deal, man?
I always loved seeing that funny little bald spot on the back of your neck--reminded me of the quirks that only close friends know about. "Oh of course, that's Bob's little bald spot. It's random, just showed up. We know all about it." Glad to hear there's another one. Good point about the pregnancy bit, Rebecca. I'm going with bald-baby empathy.
My hair is hangin' tight so far (woe to the drain if it doesn't) and I think the current course won't mess with it. But I'm with you anyway. Fuck hair.
ox
jmb
I'm gonna credit the bald spot to my zen husband's obsession with wabi sabi of late. Wabi sabi is this Japanese concept that describes the beauty in imperfection or something like that (I love it because it justifies all sorts of messy things, like the state of our wood floors, as shown in that photo of Olive's feet). Bob would give you a better description. But it's fitting. Both of you would still be beautiful without hair.
xoxo
jamie
wabi sabi is what we served with the pickled ginger and the sushi.
makes hair grow on your chest -- but not your head I guess.
-- bob
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