May 1
by Judy Bracken, Newsletter Editor
Here we are well into springtime and sheltering in place. Hope you are all enjoying your extra time at home, and please enjoy this bit of NSC news!
President’s Message, by Armand Gutierrez
Membership Drive, by Tina Woo
Takeout Food in the Virus Era, by Hoyt Nelson
Virtual Events Corner, contributed by Tina Woo
Recipe Corner: Beer Bread, contributed by Sandy Kiyomura
Restaurant Ramblings: A Little Bit o’dis an Somo Dat, by Hoyt Nelson
by Armand Gutierrez, President
May is here and that means it’s time to bring an end to the NSC 2019-2020 season. Like last year, NSC had a pretty good season highlighted by a variety of accomplishments and events:
June marks the start of the NSC 2020-2021 season, and beginning this month you can take advantage of the $5 membership discount if you sign up and submit your membership form before May 31st . Please submit your application to Tina Woo (Membership Chairman).
Normally the end of the ski season has the board working on upcoming events for the summer and fall. However, this is not a normal year with the current group event restrictions in place. But, that does not mean our normal events are cancelled, the board prefers to use the term postponed. Yes, we are still considering the annual Luau and Membership Picnic, hosting another Tea Dance, and possibly a Thai Cooking demonstration. We’ll keep you posted on when these events are scheduled.
Board Nominations & Elections
The nominations process has been completed and the next step is elections. The elections chairman tells me there were several nominations but they were gracefully declined. Therefore the slate consists of the incumbents, and we’re fortunate that everyone on the board has agreed to serve again. However, voting is important and although there were no accepted nominations you can still vote for a write-in candidate. Whether you’re voting for the incumbents or a write-in candidate, it’s important that you do vote. Your vote tells the board that you do appreciate the volunteer work performed by members of the board, so please take the very short time needed to cast your vote. The election ballot using SurveyMonkey was recently distributed by Hoyt Nelson.
2021 NSC Ski Week to Breckenridge, CO
Next year’s ski week will be at Breckenridge, CO from 23-30 January, Breckenridge is part of Vail Resorts so you can pick up an Epic Pass for the next season. Once again, Sports America will be offering the Epic Pass promotion-lodging rebate of $30 for an Epic Local Pass and $50 for a Full Epic Pass. For 2020-21 Breckenridge will be on the Epic Pass, and is also good for Northstar, Heavenly Valley, and Kirkwood. Here is what you need to know about the Ikon and Epic Passes for the Breckenridge trip:
If you have any questions about either of the passes then drop me a line at president@niseiskiclub.org
by Tina Woo, Membership Chair
We’re ending our 2019-2020 season with a total of 70 members. Please welcome new members: Susan Fung, Carol Fujimura, Lennie Kwock, Greg Mandrussow, Ellen Szeto, Carolyn T. Wong, and Glen Yamane. Also, welcome back long-time members: Janet Gee & Rod Ngai, Morgan Hua, Jennifer Kaneda, Gilbert & Debra Lee, Jackie Maruhashi, Amy and David Tsuhako and Gary Yee. Many of these members participated in the week-long trip to Whistler, BC in February.
June marks the start of the 2020-2021 Nisei Ski Club season. Beginning this month you can take advantage of the $5 discount if you sign up before May 31. Download and complete the membership form, then mail to Tina Woo (address at bottom of form) to be eligible. We still may have post-season events including the annual picnic, Thai Cooking Demo, Tea Dance, Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival planned, in addition to the week-long trip in January 2021 to Breckenridge, Colorado. And, we’re certainly open to suggestions for club activities. I’m hoping you will join us!
by Hoyt Nelson
Dining after the virus makes restaurant dining different and takeout is the order of the day (if you don’t want to cook). I can report several good experiences we’ve had over the last few weeks. Both give quantities greater than what you’d get in the restaurant at the same, or better quality as for sit down. I know these only apply to the San Jose area, but I suspect you can find equally good places where you live.
While I’m at it, here is a link to my restaurant list for some of my favorites (not all places do takeout): https://drive.google.com/open?id=122YDkHJTNB31sAMZB0utsqFVLM55qJj-
For those who want to cook at home, see some of my favorite recipes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QHKrCBvjzMxdo7DcAoEPAr_lo1bXw1gD
May 1
contributed by Tina Woo
With this shelter-in-place reality we have been living since mid-March, many groups have created online ways to exercise, go to the park or museum, listen to music performances, or watch interesting films. Tina has compiled this list for us, and we welcome additional contributions at any time.
GoldenGate150.com: Happy 150th Birthday to Golden Gate Park! Millions of people visit the park each year and now this can be done virtually. Watch exclusive concert performances from previous years, take virtual tours of some of the parks most popular destinations (Stowe Lake, Japanese Tea Garden, Sunday concerts of the Golden Gate Park Band) and view special live webcams. Did you know that Golden Gate Park has fly casting at Angler’s Lodge, is home to a popular disc golf course, or 6 American bison? Visit the penguin feeding area, live coral or butterfly exhibit within the Academy of Science or view historical photo albums. Discover and explore Golden Gate Park in celebration of this special birthday!
Asian Art Museum: Here’s a link to the Asian Art Museum from home: https://asianart.org/museumfromhome/.
La Blast Fitness Classes: Dance/fitness exercise regime daily at 9:30 am. We know that there is a lot of uncertainty during these crazy times, but there is nothing uncertain about having a great time doing LaBlast!
Daily Class Schedule for April 27 – May 1 10:30am – 11:30am MDT (9:30am PDT, 11:30am CDT, 12:30pm EDT).Register for them here: https://lablastfitness.com/free-lablast-live-classes/
The Green Music Center at Sonoma State University continues to offer you best wishes and good health as we navigate the challenges of COVID-19. We miss being together at performances and look forward to the day when we can once again experience the power and joy of live performance.
Our Engaging from a Distance program continues with new special internet events, as well as a wealth of possibilities that are curated and cataloged on our website. We’re excited to announce these events with artists who were scheduled to perform at the Green in April:
The Wild & Scenic Film Festival: All across the globe humans are feeling the impacts of COVID-19 and the social distancing and time at home that come with it. With this in mind, we couldn’t think of a better time to share some past Wild & Scenic Official Selections with you. We plan to put a new film up every few days so be sure to check back in here. We hope you all enjoy these momentary respites from the news of the day and wish you the very best as you navigate these challenging times. Click here for more information.
Save the Date: “Asian Americans,” A Film Series: We are thrilled to announce that our partners PBS and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) will soon debut “Asian Americans,” the most ambitious television chronicle of the Asian American story in the United States. It premieres on PBS during Asian Pacific American Heritage Month on May 11 and 12, 2020. “Asian Americans” is a production of WETA Washington, D.C. and CAAM for PBS, in association with the Independent Television Service (ITVS), Flash Cuts, and Tajima-Peña Productions. It is a five-part history series that explores the evolving identity, contributions, and challenges experienced by Asian Americans. Watch a Preview Learn more about the series here. We hope you will save the date for May 11 and 12!
contributed by Sandy Kiyomura
I used this Beer Bread recipe from an article in the NY Times listing 10 things that have changed in these days of sheltering-in-place. It surprised me to read that so many more people are making their own bread. I have a group of friends I’ve been keeping in touch with, and three of us have been baking bread much more than we ever did before. Since I did not have yeast (and I heard it was hard to find), I used beer. Thus, this recipe came into play. The first time, all I had was non-alcoholic beer, which did not work well. Subsequently, I’ve made three more loaves with real beer and that was great.
The basic recipe calls for 3 cups of flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp sugar and 1 12 oz can of beer (blander the better). Optional 2 tbsp melted butter drizzled on top after bread is baked. 375 degrees for 35 minutes. I have a bread maker so I don’t have to mix.
by Hoyt Nelson
A Few Updates: Stone Stew (Iranian) has now moved from Saratoga Ave. to 205 N 4 th St. San Jose 408-622-1067. As I mentioned before, Harry’s Hofbrau is closed. We now go to Esther’s Bakery and Catering in Los Altos – it’s even better for good German food.
Here are some of my tips and picks for food from many nations. Until the shelter in place has lifted, we can only dream about going out!
American: Nick’s Next Door 11 College Ave. Los Gatos new American $$$ 408-402-5053: We splurged a bit for a friend’s birthday party in late 2019 and the food was very good, except for everything being very salty and over sauced for my taste. My rib eye was cooked perfectly rare, but had more gristle than I expected for $35 and the French fries were soaked with its gravy. One of the reasons I ordered it was because it came with a fairly large piece of bone marrow which I had not eaten before. Unfortunately, the sauce overpowered its delicate flavor, so I still don’t know what bone marrow tastes like. We were served in a large tent outside and heaters were provided on request when it got colder later that night. Although not the fault of the restaurant, there was another very loud party in the same tent which took away from the charm of the place. Service was nice and parking was fairly easy. Would I go back? Only if I knew they reduced the salt served on most dishes.
Indian: We love Indian food and we like variety, but there are very few Indian restaurants that serve buffets in the evening. We tend to need a nap after a large meal, so eating at a buffet for lunch tends to ruin any plans for the rest of the day. The solution for many years was Sneha, just off Lawrence in Sunnyvale, close to Central Expwy. but in 2017
and 2018 it lost its touch and we stopped going. In 2017-2020, it changed hands several times. On 8-18-2019 we checked Yelp and read some encouraging reviews for its new incarnation and so we tried it again. Happily, was back to its former good self, but it changed hands again so we don’t know what it’s like now. I don’t know of any evening buffets now in operation except for special variants of this genre.
African: There are many forms of African food: Ethiopian, Moroccan, Egyptian, Somalian, etc. but most commonly found restaurants in the US have similarities such as the liberal use of the flat bread called injera (or similar sounding name). It is a thin, flat bread, up to about 14 inches in diameter which can resemble thin foam rubber. (Don’t wory, it
tastes way better than that.) It is used as a base on which stews, salads, etc. are placed in various piles that sometimes sits on a large basket affair with a conical upside down basket on top to cover everything from flies, dust, etc. Injera is also used as an eating implement. You tear off a small piece of another injera disk and use this to grasp a bite off the piles on the base. Some of the stews (with or without meat) can be hot (spicy). The meat is goat, fish or chicken, but usually not pork (as many countries are predominantly Muslim. My wife was uncertain about the goat, but quickly
learned to like it. The beer is good and the national mead (with honey) drink called Tej is interesting. They make a show of pouring tea from a great height above a tiny glass. It is very sweet and is frequently flavored with mint.
Ethiopian: Pretty much as described above. We have quite a few of these, but our hands down favorite is Walia on Stevens Creek at Bascom. Many years ago, we liked Gojo on Stevens Creek, San Jose, but haven’t sampled it lately.
Moroccan: In addition to the stuff mentioned above, an interesting dish is a chicken pie flavored with cinnamon and sugar. Many places hang a cloth or parachute over the eating area to resemble a tent and you sometimes have to sit on a cushion on the floor. Belly dancing frequently accompanies the dinner and the whole experience frequently lasts for several hours.
Egyptian: There don’t seem to be any Egyptian places in the Bay Area, but the stuff we had in Egypt was more traditional stewed meats and veggies with some Egyptian spices. (If you ask Yelp for Egyptian, they are really list just the standard middle eastern stuff.)
Somalian: There’s only one, and it’s hard to find. Jubba is across the street from the light rail station
You are currently browsing the archives for May, 2020
