Rustic Olive Bread

Last night, I put together ingredients for a nice loaf of bread—for today’s picnic lunch. It’s a slight modification of the wonderful Sullivan Street no-knead bread made popular by the New York Times. I reduced the recipe to two-thirds so that the bread would fit into my Pyrex glass covered…

Thanksgiving Reunion

Relatives came into town several days ago to join us for Thanksgiving. My aunts and uncles—Julia and Wilmer and Nipa and Vincent—arrived from Smith River in the northwesternmost corner of California. Uncle Joe and his family, being local, drove over today, as did my cousins who could make it. My…

ThankSharing 2011

This evening, Loma Linda University Medical Center presented an inspirational program of ThankSharing to celebrate our blessings and to reach out to our community. Ruthita Fike and Gerald Winslow opened the program with the welcome and prayer. Nicole Johnson, bestselling author, dramatized three messages for this evening’s event. In between,…

Fall Colors

Although fall started nearly two months ago, yesterday felt like the first day. The sun hid from view and caused a drop in the thermometer. I was indoors most of the day performing surgeries. Today, I have the chance to take the stroll outside. Patchy clouds meld together to form…

Flat Max by the Pond

On this beautiful fall day, the irregular cloud layer obscures much of the sun’s rays, but I can still peek at the blue sky like looking through windows from within a marshmallow. Autumn colors against a background of mostly dark green brighten up this overcast day. I take Flat Max…

Flat Max in the OR

Yesterday, I got a letter from my friend, Max, who sent himself in a flat form to spend some vacation time in California. His mom, Sarah, had called me last week and told me to expect the package in the mail, since this is part of Max’s school project. The…

Orthopaedic Clinic Halloween Party

A lot of clinic staff dressed up for Halloween today, and there were a lot of characters that I didn’t recognize. Both clinic locations had potluck lunches, and there was also a costume contest. The highlight, of course, was the Riedel family—Barth, Daphne, and the three little ones all dressed…

Halloween Brain Pâté and Chips

For this year’s potluck at the clinic, I thought it would be a nice change to make a savory dish instead of dessert. First, I chopped up garlic and a quarter of an onion. Then, I sautéed it in butter. In the meantime, I heated up cream cheese, mayonnaise, milk,…

Olive and Wine Faire

This afternoon, we drove out to the Highland Springs Resort for their first annual Olive and Wine Faire. The main reason for going was to see how olive oil is made. They had a dry demonstration using The Cub olive oil press, which takes about 10 lbs of ground up…

Filet Mignon

I made lunch for my parents today. First, I got some filet mignon from Stater Bros. I also cut up some zucchini and seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. The onions were simply sliced and oiled. For the steak, I used pomegranate juice, Chilean Cabernet, coarse sea salt,…

Lobo Group Camp

We just got back from a restful weekend retreat in the San Bernardino National Forest. I left Friday evening after work, and by the time I got on the freeway, it was already dark. Most of the group left in the afternoon and set up Lobo Group Camp off of…

Friends from Hangzhou

This evening, we had friends from Hangzhou over for dinner—from Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital as well as Hospital Number Two. The visitors had been here for two months, and most of them are leaving tomorrow morning to return home.

Pine Springs Ranch

Loma Linda University School of Medicine just had a retreat at Pine Springs Ranch. A rainbow greeted our arrival as we turned onto Apple Canyon Road. Among the inspirational talks, Jon Paulien gave some food for thought regarding the value of education at Loma Linda. I had the role of…

South Lake to North Lake Travelogue

The trip to the Eastern Sierras was nothing short of epic. Here a brief travelogue of the hike from South Lake to North Lake through Dusy Basin, Evolution Basin, Evolution Valley, and Piute Canyon. We traversed over 55 miles, hiking over three mountain passes—Bishop, Muir, and Piute Passes—with nearly 10,000…

South Lake to North Lake: Day 6

September 5 We had gone to bed when it was 40 degrees outside, and this morning, our breaths had condensed and froze to the tent wall. I am scraping ice off the silnylon using my towel. Outside, everything is frozen: my water container, my shoes, the tent. The first thing…

South Lake to North Lake: Day 5

September 4 This entire day will be all about climbing. It’s all uphill. After coffee and the usual breakfast, I take a few more pictures of the surrounding beauty. Then, we head up the trail toward Piute Pass. Brad and I are both glad that we had pushed a little…

South Lake to North Lake: Day 4

September 3 We both slept very well. The night felt warmer, and we had very little tent condensation. Brad checks his thermometer, which reads 30 degrees Fahrenheit. It feels warmer. Anyways, I go on a private walk back along the creek, taking pictures along the way. I find an interesting…

South Lake to North Lake: Day 3

September 2 This day would be the longest. I wake up to a beautiful morning. The air is crisp, the mosquitoes are gone, and my tent held up to the wind. I had guyed out Brad’s side of the tent to give more lateral headroom to the A-frame profile, and…

South Lake to North Lake: Day 2

September 1 A dusting of frost covers nearly everything. I first notice this on the backpacks just outside the tent. My towel is frozen stiff. There is bad condensation inside the tent because it’s so cold outside. The cure, of course, is a nice helping of hot coffee. Starbucks Via.…

South Lake to North Lake: Day 1

August 31 The noontime sun beats down by the time we arrive at the trailhead. The first part of the trip takes us along the South Fork of Bishop Creek. Before reaching Long Lake, we pass a newlywed couple on their honeymoon, who are planning to spend their first night…

South Lake to North Lake: Pretrip

On and before August 31 The sliding glass door at Clark’s once again opens and closes. I feel as if the checkers are looking at me, wondering why I am back. I had gotten the wrong package; there is no reason that Pad Thai should have fish sauce in it.…

South Lake to North Lake: Plans

Getting ready to leave on what should be an epic backpacking trip through the high Sierras out of Bishop, California. Here are the itinerary and menu (vegetarian, except for other choices for lunch). Wednesday, August 31 Breakfast at Rainbow Outfitters Car shuttle to North Lake Take in from South Lake…

San Gorgonio Peak

This trip took me and our group of residents and medical students from the Vivian Creek trailhead to San Gorgonio Peak. […]

Alice’s Birthday Party

On the weekend before Alice’s actual birthday, we had a group of friends over for an evening celebration. The menu, of course, was Thai food.

Seared ahi

I had been wanting to try making seared ahi. From the looks of it, it shouldn’t be that difficult. Anyways, I decided to try two recipes. Trader Joe’s had nice ahi steaks, and the first recipe was ahi encrusted in five spice powder served with a salad drizzled with wasabi…