ne(one)piphany

Learned to shuck oysters last night! The occasion: a fabulously decandent dinner party hosted by OG, with Rav in tow to complete the oyster-head trifecta. Between the three of us, we polished off roughly three dozen raw Kushi and Quilcene oysters, accompanied by homemade ponzu, oroshi and chopped spring onions. Wine and improvised bruschetta completed the menu — a heavenly feast, worthy of poetry!

Shucking is rather difficult for a beginner (especially the Quilcenes, tough little guys!) and we didn’t have the proper knives for the job, so there were a few sore muscles and blade-related close calls. Overall, though, it was loads of fun, and the food! The food was worth every effort!

I would have taken some absolutely luscious photographs, but it appears that my digital camera has given up the ghost. Alas!

• How to shuck an oyster.
• Oyster-related art, by Manet, Sargent, Warhol.
• A guide to oyster varieties, from CuisineNet.

I have a grudge against Reese Witherspoon. She had the audacity to appear in a dream (as my nemesis, a rival gang leader), in which each of our gangs was trying to nick fighter planes from the US Air Force. Big Air Force, plenty of planes to go around, right? But no! Reese, that conniving witch, played dirty and not only tricked us out of three stealth bombers but got me and my crew arrested and thrown in the clink! Meanwhile, she’s undetectable by radar!

And to think, I actually liked The Importance of Being Earnest! Ingrate.

Happy birthdays to (today!) cindy, to (tomorrow!) janjan, and to (Sunday!) sonya! Happy Happy!