raw mohair

raw wool
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

this bag of loft cloud-like soft hair was somewhat expensive, but clean. i always wanted curly hair. now i have a bag full purchased from a woman at the spinning & weaving festival. i'm really tempted to make a sheep costume for the cat, but no matter how cute, he doesn't deserve it. the dude sleeps all day while i'm hard at work cleaning sheep hair.

what i did last weekend

washing raw wool
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

sheep are dirty. i don't even want to think about what the pieces of non-vegetable matter i pulled from this little lamby's coat. 6 1/4 lbs of wool may be a lot, but i have 9+ lbs to look forward to. the bathroom finally stopped smelling like a farm.

lunasia

lunasia
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

here's a tip. if you're a hardcore dim sum lover, you arrive early. I'm talking 9am or whenever the restaurant opens. it's never too early for dim sum. besides, doesn't the early bird get the worm? our large group of 8 had no problem getting a table because we arrived early. no fuss. no wait. they even started seating us before the entire party arrived.

i'm surprised to see this place received such poor reviews. after trying 25 or so of their dishes, i found the food to range from good to excellent. there was only one dishi didn't think was good, the xiao long bao, but this is not a dim sum specialty, so i'm not surprised. ordinarily, i wouldn't order this at a dim sum restaurant, but we love dumplings so much we couldn't help ourselves.

excellent:
tofu with abalone sauce - fried tofu, softened by a flavorful sauce stuffed with a seafood ball
pork & shrimp siu mai - large, plump, juicy
vegetarian rice noodle - crunchy, tasty vegetables rolled into sheets of rice
shrimp rice noodle - delicious, springy freshness to the wrapper
salt and pepper chicken wings - crispy, slightly spicy & so good
salt and pepper tofu - the vegetarian version consists of super crunchy small cubes of tofu
green onion pancake - crispy
roasted pork belly - crispy strip of skin, nice balance of fatty flavor with lean meat
roasted duck pie - a flaky pastry filled with sweet, marinated duck
wolfberry jello - light, refreshing

good
har gow - plump shrimp dumplings in a glassine skin
cilantro rice noodle - not as strongly flavored, but good
bbq pork buns - perfectly cooked, sweet and juicy
pumpkin pie - sweet pumpkin dumplings filled with red bean & sprinkled with sesame seeds
sticky rice wrap - sticky rice with a filling of pork & mushrooms, wrapped in a banana leaf
steamed rice noodle with pork spare ribs - nice flavor to the meat
sauteed eggplant - sweet, spicy glazed stir-fried fresh japanese eggplant
chinese broccoli with oyster sauce - fresh greens, rich oyster sauce
fro gura (foie gras) dumplings - a little strange to be eating a dumpling filled with foie gras, but it was good, though kind of rich.
mashed dumpling - typical
pork meatball

don't recommend
xiao long bao - lacking in soup, and kind of dry
taro cake with chinese sausage - kind of dry

one of the nicer, cleaner dim sum places i've been to in sgv, lunasia's dim sum was solid. although the carts can be fun, ordering from a menu means the food is hot and fresh when it gets to the table. you can also get what you want right away instead of hoping it will show up on the next cart. service was pretty good.

camping at point mugu

camping at point mugu
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i bought my first sleeping bag, and we slept on the beach. the full moon made for a nice evening, and though we didn't fully get away, it was different waking up to the sounds of the ocean.

csa box oct 30

- green leaf lettuce
- romaine lettuce
- squash
- russet potatoes
- huge head of cabbage
- parsley
- carrots
- apples
- strawberry jam