Update - Housing Progress!

Not unlike watching a child assemble a fortress with building blocks, the house moving crew easily placed four units on their foundations in a matter of days.

Oh! Give Me a Home...

...where the buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope play. Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day."
This song plays over and over in my head as Mr. Smith and I venture out to our favorite campgrounds for a picnic. Hundreds of buffalo have the same idea. Yes, hundreds! Little Harbor is nestled in a charming valley dotted with palms. Here, fresh water is pumped into a trough for the buffalo and there are showers, portajohns and shaded picnic tables for the campers. The temperature is at least 10 degrees cooler here where the ocean freshens the desert breezes. We bond with the buffalo while they graze on sparse grass and we dine on our potato salad and shrimp cocktail picnic. We offer to share but they snub our table. Little did they know I had fresh from the oven banana bread too!
To get to Little Harbor from Two Harbors, just follow the only road out of town and the signs to the airport. You can't miss it! Or, if you are traveling by boat, navigate around the west end of Catalina Island to the back side, sail beyond Catalina Harbor and it will be the next harbor with suitable anchorage. Shark Harbor is just beyond. And if there aren't any buffalo there when you arrive, stick around awhile!

It's All Uphill From Here!

As I sit back in my cozy island cottage to write at my leisure, a crew of exhausted men are struggling to haul two prefabricated housing units from USC's Wrigley Marine Science Center's pier up 2 steep hills, around a corner and placed ever so gently on their foundations. Yesterday it took them 10 hours to get just one of the houses off of the barge. They were constructed in San Pedro and shipped over in the wee hours of the morning. Today, after yesterday's trial and error lessons, they were able to unload the 2nd house within two hours. Getting them uphill is reminiscent of the ancients, hauling large precut stones up into place on the pyramids with levers and pulleys. This project however will use large trucks with powerful engines and hydraulic winches - both engineering feats reflective of their respective eras. See full story in the Los Angeles Times
Having once made a living as a construction worker, I can sympathize with the men, their aching backs and heavy arms, but that's about as close as I'm going to get. I've thought about making them all some cookies or margarita cupcakes, but I'd rather just think about it - and write a tribute to their accomplishment instead. Then I'm going out for a walk.

Surviving Lactose Intolerance

And enjoying it! I'd never thought I'd live to say it. Fifteen years or so ago when I first discovered my inability to digest lactose, I just knew my life would soon end. How could I survive without cheddar cheese, pistachio and almond fudge ice creams, luscious cream sauces and mounds of sour cream on baked potatoes? Then I remembered a girl I met years earlier who suffered from schizophrenia. She had literally willed away her monthly period. The memory shamed me and I became determined to will away my desire for dairy products. It seemed unnatural, but I soon realized it to be as simple as a lifestyle choice of mind over matter. So for years, I denied myself of these simple pleasures with a sometimes resentful heart.

Then soy products entered my life, and I was liberated. In the summer of 2000 while at sea, a vegan scientist (Thanks Rachel!) introduced me to Tofutti brand products - namely Tofutti Cuties. Once ashore, I went to the nearest Trader Joes Grocer and bought a box. I managed to make it into my car without tearing into the package. My hands shook as I tried to unwrap the 'cutie' and only managed to get half the wrapper off before indulging myself with a big bite. The entire box was gone within two city blocks.
Since then I've added a few other delicacies that have made my dairy-free life not only tolerable, but downright fun! I try to never run out of Tofutti cream cheese, Silk Light Soy Milk,and sheep feta from Israel.




My daughter loves to find treats for me and if it weren't for her, I would have never had the courage to try sheep and goat cheeses. Basically, I've learned that if it doesn't come from a cow, I can eat it!
If you're lactose-intolerant, and you dearly miss dairy products, don't be shy about trying the new soy products and the ever growing varieties of sheep and goat milks and cheeses.
Evaporated goat milk is the newest addition to my gourmet dishes and is exquisite with Chicken Marsala, or any dish that calls for cream. For a different flavor, you can substitute milk or cream with coconut milk. This works well in dessert and rice dishes.


When an ice cream craving comes, I love the dairy free desserts from Turtle Mountain. Their brand, "Purely Decadant" says it all.

There are a plethora of new vegan cookbooks available that have fabulous ideas for enjoying dairy-free meals and desserts. My new favorite is "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World"

No longer do I regard being lactose intolerant a disadvantage. My life is a lot healthier and more interesting now. There are still those awkward moments like when ordering from a menu and trying explain to the diner waitress that eggs aren't dairy products. Then I am tempted to say, "Have you ever seen a cow lay an egg?"

How to Freeze Fresh Green Beans

This is so easy! It will take less than an hour from basket to bag - depending on how many beans you have.
Step 1: Harvest the crop. These are pole beans.



Step 2: Rinse beans well to clean.



Step 3: Snap off the stem-end of the beans only. The other ends contain good nutrients. Break longer beans in halves or thirds.





Step 4: Meanwhile bring to boil a pot of water salted with Kosher or sea salt - I use about a tablespoon per 2 quarts.




Step 5: Add the beans to vigorously boiling water, top with the lid until it reboils and cook for 3 minutes.




Step 6: Drain the hot water from the pot and add beans to iced water to cool.


Step 7: C'est Fini! Label and bag your beans!

Where the Buffalo Roam

He just sat there. High on a knoll overlooking the harbor, the town's resident buffalo took on a kingly air. I first spotted our elusive town mascot this evening on a stroll with Mr. Smith on our way into the village to mail a letter. With camera in hand I set out following the 'buffalo chip trail' to get a closer shot.
And he continued to just sit there as I tiptoed from behind him, closer, then around the front, easing my way with quiet determination. It wouldn't have been prudent to startle the beast. They can move fast and change direction seemingly on a dime. We made eye contact and his tolerant expression never changed as my camera whizzed and I inched nearer. As I hunkered down in the dry grass in front of him, I noticed his tagged left ear, and the multitude of scars on his hide. Despite the Catalina Conservancy's best effort, buffalo don't think twice about walking through barbed wire fences when the grass looks a bit greener on the other side.
Now you can't blame them. This year is proving to be the driest on the Southern California's historical record. I have never seen the island so dry and it wouldn't take too much imagination to envision the scrubby hillsides as sand dunes. Lately I had been noticing quite a few more 'chips' scattered about than usual - evidence that a few had broken away from their inner island herd, no doubt searching for edible vegetation and a watering hole.
Originally 14 bison were transported to the island for the 1925 filming of The Vanishing American. Since then the population of bison has grown and has been as large as 400. To maintain their health and the island's ability to sustain their population, the bison herd is occasionally kulled (reduced). Buffalo burgers can be found on some island menu's, the most famous served from the Buffalo Springs Station located at the Catalina Island Airport. Buffalo meat is often seen in the meat section of Avalon's grocery stores.
They are an amazing animal, and aside from their inability to clean up after themselves, I view buffalo as a whole, a generally polite species. On your next visit to the island, pay your respects to our local residents and bend an elbow in salute with a Buffalo Milk libation.

A Fish in Hand

It isn't every day that your neighbor hands you freshly caught yellowtail.As if that isn't amazing enough, he had already cleaned and fileted the succulent fish. Immediately I searched http://www.epicurious.com/ for a recipe that would honor the catch. MACADAMIA-CRUSTED YELLOWTAIL WITH MANGO-PAPAYA SALSA
was perfect served with coconut lemon rice and fresh spring salad greens mixed with bartlet pear, sheep feta, and a light thyme dressing. We thanked our benefactor by presenting him with a generous serving. As a result, we worked out a win-win relationship. He'll catch the fish and I'll cook them!