How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
I don’t like sports, never have. When other kids were watching the football game or playing catch, I was reading nature books or planting roses. When most guys are watching “The big game” I have no idea who’s playing. I couldn’t tell you what a linebacker does or how many points a basketball makes when it drops through the hoop. Sports are just not my thing.
Now I’m guessing that more than one woman reading this will share the sentiment that my wife has about this: “He cooks AND doesn’t like sports! What a catch!” Swoon away at the idea ladies, but I’m not a handsome man so there’s a give and take here.
The one exception to my sports aversion is Sumo wrestling. I could watch Sumo basho (tournaments) all day long, not that they are readily available here. It’s got pageantry, mythology and superstitions, and the lifetime of training to be the best. Maybe since I’m a large, round guy myself, Sumo gives me the enjoyable knowledge that I’m petite when compared to most of these wrestlers.
Why would I be talking about Sumo wrestlers in a food column? Sometimes I can get sidetracked while trying to make my point. My daughter was recently very ill and after several of weeks of not being able to hold any food down she lost 6 pounds of body weight and her blood iron level was very low. I decided the best way to get her back into shape is to feed her Sumo food, food that really satisfies these big guys. When she could finally eat I made her a big bowl of chankonabe.
Chakonabe is a traditional Sumo wrestler’s stew. The really fun thing about chankonabe is that there isn’t actually a single traditional recipe for it, so it can be pretty much whatever you want it to be. You take a broth and then just chuck a bunch of stuff in it.
The point of the soup is that it be heavy in proteins so the wrestlers could bulk up. The thing that westerners can really love about it is that it’s not like most Japanese soups that are so light and ethereal that they have the flavor of angels’ tears with a hint of eel. Chankonabe is hearty and full of flavor.
Chicken is the favorite meat for chankonabe because chickens stand on two legs, and a Sumo wrestler strives to stay standing on two legs during a match. Cows and pigs stand on four legs and if that happens to a wrestler he has lost the match. So just out of the superstition, chicken is the most common meat although fish, pork, beef and horse are still popular.
Now I can hear you wondering, how can chankonabe be good for you? Have you seen how fat those Sumo wrestlers are? Actually chankonabe is high in protein but low in fat, so it is a good, wholesome food. What helps the wrestlers bulk up is that they don’t eat breakfast at all. They get up and start their work out then they eat several bowls full of chankonabe for lunch and take a nap.
I’ve included the “recipe” of the chankonabe that I made for my daughter most recently, and while it has Asian influences it’s a pretty western tasting stew. This could easily be a vegetarian dish and still just as filling.
In the version I made I used equal parts bonito stock for authenticity and chicken stock for familiarity. You can use any stock or combination that you would like; for instance, vegetable stock and mushroom stock, and then you could add sliced portabellas to the pot.
I occasionally make a vegetarian chankonabe with lentil stock, squash, mushrooms, udon noodles, broccoli, etc. Miso paste is also a common addition to chankonabe and would be a great addition to a vegetarian mushroom chankonabe. I also used bison meat since it is very high in protein and iron and those are what my daughter needed at the time. That’s the great thing about chankonabe, it is what ever you want it to be.
Bok choy (there are different spellings) is an Asian cabbage that has become hugely popular in recent years. You can translate the name loosely being “bok” white, and “choy” meaning vegetable. Bok choy is a very popular vegetable throughout the world since it is low in calories, has no fat or cholesterol but is high in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and Vitamins A and C.
Bok choy is also very mild flavored and doesn’t overwhelm anything that it is cooked with. It gives nutrition, color and texture to most dishes. The greens shrink when heated like spinach does, so add more than you think you will need to a dish. I actually sneak bok choy into many foods like tuna salad just to make them more nutritious.
Most local grocery stores not only carry fully grown bok choy but also baby bok choy. This makes me laugh because baby bok choy is more expensive than the fully grown bok choy ... how does that work?
Bok choy is a lot like leeks in that it should be washed well before eating. The leaves hang on to dirt pretty well and the bases of the stalks also hang on to a good amount of grit.
I like to cut of the base of the bok choy and toss it in the compost pile and then chop the entire head. Then throw all of it into a large bowl or sink filled with water and mix well so the sand can fall away. Throw into the salad spinner and you’re done.
If you don’t have a salad spinner you can put all of the greens into a large cotton kitchen towel or pillow case, pick it up by the corners then go out side and swing it around for a minute and let centrifugal force dry the greens off.
If you don’t care for bok choy you can use many other greens like spinach or napa cabbage, and even broccoli would work well.
By the way, my daughter is much better now.
Chankonabe
1 pound bison, cubed (optional)
1 pound chicken, cubed
4 cups bok choy stalks and leaves, finely sliced
2 cups bonito stock
2 cups chicken stock
1 block firm tofu, cubed
1 package udon noodles
1 onion, julienned
one-quarter cup sake
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Drops of sesame oil
Vegetable oil or butter
In a two-quart stock pot brown the chicken and bison in oil or butter in small batches and set aside while browning another batch.
Once all of the meat is browned deglaze the pan with the sake (vodka or wine would also work) and when the bottom of the pan is clean add the bok choy and stir it a few times. It will reduce by two thirds quite quickly, much like spinach.
Add all of the other ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer until everything is cooked through. Serve.
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Immediately after the Spinners exemplary show last Saturday May 16, photographer David Stearn and I sought out Spinners Road Manager Tunis Wilson and he led us back to the dressing room where the group held forth.
Original Spinners Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambaugh did most of the talking while the newer members just kinda sat around and soaked it up. Though they, too (Charleton Washington, Spike Delong and Jessie Peck), were very knowledgeable about the group’s history.
The late great Phillipe Soul Wynne, one of the most popular singers that ever sang with the Spinners, was the first subject of discussion. Wynne died in July of 1984 just a couple of months after another great balladeer, Mr. Marvin Gaye. I asked about Jonathan Edwards, who replaced Wynne, and was told that he has retired from performing due to health reasons.
The group formed in 1955 while attending Ferndale High near Detroit, Mich. They were originally called the Domingoes, but because of the similarity and confusion with two other vocal groups of the day, the Flamingos and the Dominos, they elected early on to become the Spinners, more specifically the Detroit Spinners, so as not to be confused with a folk group out of UK with the same name.
Around 1960, the group signed with Harvey Fuqua of Harvey & The Moonglows. Fuqua had a record label called Tri-Phi Records upon whose imprint their first hit, “That’s What Girls Are Made For,” was recorded in 1961.
Your CyberSoulMan had to make an honest confession to the group as I had always, in my mind, attributed that song to another Doo-Wop group, Shep & The Limelights. Bobbie Smith and Henry Fambaugh got a kick out of my faux pas.
Though “That’s What Girls Are Made For” was a big hit for Tri-Phi the label couldn’t keep afloat. Fuqua was married to Gwen Gordy, Berry Gordy’s sister, and Tri-Phi was subsequently swallowed by Motown in 1964.
Smith and Fambaugh both stated that while at Motown they recorded a fair amount of music, it was frequently shelved by Berry Gordy.
Gordy’s power extended to the radio stations the two original Spinners stated. When they asked the DJs why their records weren’t being played, they were told that Gordy told them to play Marvin Gaye.
The Spinners went more than five years without a significant hit. In 1970 Gordy finally released a Spinners cut entitled “It’s A Shame,” which was co-written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright. Smith and Fambaugh assert that even with Wonder’s awesome talent the song sat on the shelf for over a year before Gordy deemed it marketable.
In1972 after touring with Lady Soul Aretha Franklin and becoming increasing frustrated with Motown’s tactics, the Spinners jumped to Atlantic Records at Franklin’s prompting. When the Spinners signed with Atlantic, they lost one of their members, G. C. Cameron, who decided to remain with Motown as a solo artist. He was replaced by Phillipe Wynne.
Under the production helm of the renowned Thom Bell, the Spinners started to chart regularly and became one of the most successful Soul groups of the 70s.
The group is still immensely popular in Europe, particularly in England, where the audiophiles have discovered even unreleased material from the Tri-Phi years. Their whole recorded output is highly valued in England. Smith said that a UK-based writer told him that Berry Gordy was crazy for not releasing the bulk of Spinners material that he had control over.
The Spinners 2003 career retrospective release, “The Chrome Collection,” continues to sell and garner airplay both at home and abroad. In turn they continue to work all over the world as well, taking the Spinners Stimulus package to venues all over the globe.
Keep prayin’, keep thinkin’ those kind thoughts.
*****
Upcoming cool events:
Kool & The Gang perform at Cache Creek Casino on Sunday, May 24, at 8 p.m. Cache Creek is located at 14455 Highway 16 in Brooks, telephone 888-77-CACHE.
The Manhattan Transfer is appearing at Cache Creek on Saturday, May 30, at 8 p.m.
T. Watts is a writer, radio host and music critic. Visit his Web site at www.teewatts.biz.
- Details
- Written by: Lake County News Reports
An estimated 800 flags-which once decorated the caskets of veterans-will be flown at Hartley,
Kelseyville, Lower Lake and Upper Lake cemeteries on Memorial Day.
The Avenue of Flags flies twice a year – on Memorial Day and Veterans Day in November. Families of veterans donate the flags to the Ave of Flags Association for the display.
The flags will go up at 7 a.m. and be taken down at 4 p.m.
Community groups and volunteers assist with the avenue, and volunteers once again are invited
to take part.
For more information or to volunteer contact one of the following Avenue of Flags organizers: Frank Parker, 707-274-9512; Dean Gotham, 707-350-1159; or Joel Moore, 707-272-1136.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The Employment Development Department's monthly report on employment figures showed Lake County's April unemployment rate was 16 percent, down from 16.6 percent in March but up the 9.7 percent unemployment rate reported in April of 2008. The county ranked No. 45 out of the state's 58 counties.
In April, 4,040 people in Lake County were reported to be unemployed, down from 4,260 out of work in March, according to Employment Development Department reports.
California's unemployment rate decreased to 11 percent in April, down from 11.2 percent in March. In April of 2008, the state's unemployment rate was 6.6 percent. The number of people unemployed in California in April was 2,057,000 – down by 35,000 over the month, but up by 843,000 compared with April of last year.
Neighboring counties reported the following unemployment rates and statewide rankings: Colusa, 19.1; Glenn, 16.1 percent; Mendocino, 10.7 ; Napa, 8.5 percent; Sonoma, 9.4 percent; Yolo, 10.7 percent.
While state and local employment showed improvements, the US unemployment rate increased in April, rising to 8.9 percent from 8.5 percent in March and 5 percent in April of 2008.
The Employment Development Department reported that nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,411,400 in April, a decrease of 63,700 over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically. The year-over-year change (April 2008 to April 2009) shows a decrease of 706,700 jobs (down 4.7 percent).
The federal survey of households estimates the number of Californians holding jobs in April was 16,565,000, an increase of 42,000 from March, but down 544,000 from the employment total in April of last year, the agency reported.
The department's report on payroll employment in the nonfarm industries of California totaled 14,411,400 in April, a net loss of 63,700 jobs since the March survey; during that month, the state lost 61,700 jobs.
Adding 9,700 jobs in April were three industry categories – natural resources and mining; other services; and government.
At the same time, eight categories – construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; and leisure and hospitality – reported job declines, with a loss of 73,400 jobs.
EDD reported that trade, transportation and utilities posted the largest decline over the month, down by 18,900 jobs.
Ten categories lost a total of 726,600 jobs: natural resources and mining; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government.
Trade, transportation and utilities employment showed the largest decline on a numerical basis, down by 189,000 jobs, which EDD said is a decline of 6.5 percent).
Construction posted the largest decline on a percentage basis, down by 18.4 percent – a decrease of 149,900 jobs – the EDD reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
