merry christmas

surf mat riding

Just another way to enjoy riding waves. The mats are super fun, if not a little difficult to get dialed. I've got two from Paul Gross, who among other things surfing related, makes mats under the 4th Gear Flyer name. I've got a UDT and a roundtail tracker. Both super fun in all kinds of waves.

We took them to Maui recently, and Britt, who has surfed once in her life, had a blast taking them out in some small reef break and catching some really long rides. They're great for travelling as they take up almost no space, and only require some fins(or not, if the waves are small you can catch them without fins). And they really do put a giant smile on your face when you just take off flying down the line.

winter blues

School and work are done, finally. Waves are here, finally. Conditions are nice, finally. It's all lining up perfectly. Except I am sick as a dog. Praying the swells continue to come.

Lunar Eclipse

I still remember him, bringing the thick chunk of dark glass over that afternoon. We stood in the street, and held the glass up, staring at the sun as it was eclipsed by the moon. He used to love teaching us about the wonders of this world, especially what goes on up in the sky.

So this morning I woke up in the dark, and headed down to the beach. As I got in the car, the moon was just starting to catch the Earth's shadow. I sat in the freezing cold on the beach and watched the moon as it went from white, slowly fading into orange as it dropped further and further. Eventually the shadow covered the entire moon, and it glowed a beautiful, deep orange. I watched it in the quiet, with nothing but little ripples in the water and waves crashing off in the distance. As it sunk further it became harder to see, so I threw on my wetsuit and paddled out well before the sun. The dolphins were surfing, there were fun waves, and I had the ocean to myself. I watched a beautiful sunrise, had some waves, and got to enjoy something that money can't buy. It was as perfect as mornings get, and I feel lucky to have been there.

Thanks Grandad.

it's about time

The Faces and the small faces, are finally getting the credit they deserve. 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. About time.

Fall is

Fall is finally (kind of) here. Warm days and cold nights. And that means that Thanksgiving was just here. For the last couple of years we've been doing a Mock Thanksgiving with our good friends. Everyone brings something, we share some wine, and just enjoy some really good company. I brought potatos this year, but I went outside the mashed potato box:

Fresh Swiss Chard turned into a gratin with potatos from the Farmer's Market. I found my inspiration from Deb over at smittenkitchen, who did an everyday version of gratin (hers with mushrooms). It is everything you could ask for from potatoes, chard, milk, and cheese. This recipe is perfect for the rest of your holiday meals, and will be replacing all other potato dishes for me, for some time to come. enjoy.

Lifted directly, from smitten kitchen. Just replace the mushrooms with swiss chard. You can use an entire bunch from the market, and just follow the saute steps with the chard standing in for the mushrooms.

Awesomely Simple Potato Gratin
Adapted from The Art of Simple Food

As I mentioned above, potato gratins are infinitely adaptable, so have fun with this recipe. We sautéed half a pound of thinly-sliced shiitakes with one small minced shallot until they were softened and spread the mixture between potato layers. And then we fought over the corner pieces, but that part is optional, and maybe even avoidable if your household is full of grownups.

3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, plus an additional pat for buttering gratin dish
4 large yellow potatoes* (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup milk, half-and-half or cream (if using something richer than milk, you can skip the butter)
2 ounces cheese, grated or crumbled (Parmesan or Gruyere are the classics, but that doesn’t mean that goat cheese, blue cheese or any of your favorites won’t work as well) [optional]

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9- by 12-inch gratin dish with the pat of butter. Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can (a mandoline works great for this) and arrange them in a layer, overlapping the edges slightly like shingles. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and freshly ground pepper and don’t be stingy — this is where the bulk of your flavor comes from and a third of the cheese before before repeating this process with your remaining potato slices. (If you are using a sauteed vegetable filling, this is where you’d want to add half of it.) Depending on how thinly sliced your potatoes are, you should end up with approximately three layers, with a third of the cheese between each layer. Reserve the last third of your cheese for later.

Carefully pour the milk over the potatoes. It should come up to the bottom of the top layer of potatoes; add more if this was not enough. Dot the top of the gratin with the three tablespoons of butter and bake it for about an hour. Halfway through the baking time, take the gratin dish out of the oven and gental press the potatoes flat with a spatula to keep the top moist. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the gratin for the last 15 minutes of baking. The gratin is done when the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.

More gratin ideas: Use duck fat instead of butter. Swap celery root, parsnips or turnip slices for half the potatoes. Add chopped herbs such as parsley, thyme, chives or chervil between the layers. Sauté mushrooms, sorrel, spinach or leeks, with or without a finely-chopped shallot, and layer them between the potato slices.

* Yukon Golds and other waxy, yellow-fleshed potatoes work best in gratins, keeping their texture without getting floury and falling apart as Russets do.

nz

Hunkered down in the middle of finals. Studying and studying and studying. So for now, I am mindsurfing this wave. Want to go back to New Zealand, such a warm and welcoming place. Plus, with a left like this, among many others, it is a goofy footers dreamland. For now though, I will have to dream.

prone

cool interview from tom wegener on riding the alaia prone: prone