Saturday Morning Walkers - September 8, 2008

Hi all!

Hope you had a good week. A good turnout of the Saturday Morning Walkers, including Mary, Christie, Jan, Andrea, Laila, Irma and I, had a nice brisk (meaning temperature) walk yesterday up to and around Viele Lake, finishing at our first of the month planning session at Caffe Sole.

Book Report:
Laila is reading How To Meditate by Lawrence Le Shan. Here is a review from SpiritSite.com.

"Lawrence LeShan, a clinical psychologist, has spent over thirty years working with cancer patients to promote healing and well-being. He is also a pioneer in exploring the therapeutic uses of meditation.Dr. LeShan has developed a profoundly new approach to psychotherapy which focuses on assisting an individual (often a cancer patient) to find a source of joy and meaning in his life, rather than focusing on neuroses. The question to ask, says Dr. LeShan, is not "what is wrong with me?" but "what is right within me? What brings me joy and a sense of purpose in my life?"
How to Meditate is one of the simplest, most straightforward books on mediation. Dr. LeShan takes the approach that mediation is not mysterious; nor is one form of meditation ideal for everyone. In his book, Dr. LeShan outlines a variety of meditation techniques, and encourages the reader to bring meditation into his or her life."

I have started and am really enjoying Pete Hamill's memoir, A Drinking Life. Jack finished this a few weeks ago and I included the review then. Just do a search on the blog for Pete Hamill. If you've read and enjoyed Snow in August, Forever, Downtown and North River, you will appreciate learning about Hamill's background growing up and living in New York.

Website of the Week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ - the BBC presents a language site - pretty cool!

Podcast of the Week: http://www.newyorker.com/online/podcasts/campaigntrail - from The New Yorker Magazine, a podcast covering the campaign trail

Vocabulary Word of the Week: securitization - this word came up when Jack and I were listening to the news this morning and the person being interviewed used the word "securitize" - we had a "discussion" about whether or not this was a real word or if he meant to say "secure" - I won't say who was right!
Securitization is a structured finance process, which involves pooling and repackaging of cash-flow producing financial assets into securities that are then sold to investors. The name "securitization" is derived from the fact that the form of financial instruments used to obtain funds from the investors are securities.

All assets can be securitized so long as they are associated with cash flow. Hence, the securities, which are the outcome of securitization processes, are termed asset-backed securities (ABS). From this perspective, securitization could also be defined as a financial processes leading to an emission of ABS.

Securitization often utilizes a special purpose vehicle (SPV), alternatively known as a special purpose entity (SPE) or special purpose company (SPC), in order to reduce the risk of bankruptcy and thereby obtain lower interest rates from potential lenders. A credit derivative is also generally used to change the credit quality of the underlying portfolio so that it will be acceptable to the final investors.

Securitization has evolved from tentative beginnings in the late 1970s to a vital funding source with an estimated total aggregate outstanding of $8.06 trillion (as of the end of 2005, by the Bond Market Association) and new issuance of $3.07 trillion in 2005 in the U.S. markets alone.[citation needed]

Cooking and Dining Report:
Boulder Restaurant Review - Jack and I had dinner last night at Mateo (owned by the same people as Radda). http://www.mateorestaurant.com/ We had been there once before right after it first opened several years ago. We like it then but somehow never got back there. They specialized in Provencal cuisine and the decor is a bit more elegant and upscale than Radda. We had a terrific dinner and the service was outstanding. Their menu seems to change monthly so everything is very seasonal and local.
We shared two appetizers - one was an Artisan Cheese Platter featuring Cambembert, English Stilton, a Chevre and a Delice de Bourgogne Triple Cream (my favorite!) and the other was Grilled Endive with Shaved Parmiggiano Reggiano. I liked that very much.
Jack had a sliced duck breast entree which was very tasty but a bit too rare for Jack - I thought it was just perfect!
I had a Colorado leg of lamb, slow-roasted and thinly sliced, served with tomatoes and potatoes in a Provencale style - a perfect dish for a cool night.
Dessert was over the top! We both had house-made tarts - Jack had a raspberry tart with vanilla bean ice cream and I had a bittersweet chocolate tart with chocolate hazelnut ice cream. The pastry on both was thin, light and flaky. Mine was one of the best desserts I've ever had!
We also tried a wine that was recommended and we enjoyed that very much - it was similar to a Cabernet Sauvigon but less sweet. It was called Chateau Beaumont from the Medoc region.

A couple of recipes from Susan's kitchen this past week:

From Mark Bitten from the New York Times, Grilled Halibut (I used Cod) with Remoulade - http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/recipe-of-the-day-grilled-halibut-with-remoulade/ - the cod is a more economical alternative and was very delicious - the sauce was a bit too hot for me - I would cut back on the cayenne just a bit. This is great because you can make the sauce well ahead and then just quickly grill or pan-fry the fish.

From Fine Cooking, Oven Fries - http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00225_rec01.asp - a little bit more work than opening the bag of frozen fries (that I usually do!) but well worth it. Next time I'll try it with sweet potatoes.


Quote of the Week: from writer, Anais Nin

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

Have a terrific week ahead!
Love,
Susan