Author Archives: Val

Give A Man A Fish And He’ll Make Sushi…

Sushi Japan and beyond Before we get started, any of you shrimp boat captains who down a few California rolls and beat your chest in sushi-eating triumph are going to want to sit down for this one. Don’t get me … Continue reading

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Extending The Olive Branch

El Paso del Robles, California Paso Robles Olive Festival It’s hard to imagine a festival centered on the humble olive, but since 2004, the city of El Paso del Robles, California has taken celebrating the Middle Eastern fruit tree to extravaganza status. … Continue reading

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Don’t Eat The Pig In The Poke

Poke salad (poke weed) Southern United States The lovely and often deadly pokeweed If you have to assign a Surgeon General’s warning to any of the culinary delights I’ve eaten, it is undoubtedly poke salad.  Drugs.com lists some of the … Continue reading

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A Story That’s Not Hard To Swallow

San Juan Capistrano, California Fiesta de Las Golondrinas In 1776, while the English colonists were throwing down with the British in the east, Spain was having its way with the Acjachemen band of native Americans in the west, founding a … Continue reading

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Through The Looking Glass

Fort Bragg, California Glass Beach There are some places on earth that blur the distinction of what is natural and what is man-made; other places where mankind’s disregard for the environment results in the creation of a place of unusual … Continue reading

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