Mike’s Home

• Authentic, antique bearskin rug.

Still has all it's original teeth.

Bought before the war, still in fair condition.

Wearing a little thin at the edges.

Slight staining.

Has been mildly fornicated upon.

~$70 / obo.

• Old time children's swing set. Eight feet tall w/double swings.

New chains. Just been repainted.

Definitely not haunted.

~$45.

On April 28, 2006, The Land Conservancy non-profit group announced that it will be buying and preserving the house. It will be turned into an educational centre, and used for a Writer In Residence program.

They had to take out a whopper mortgage to do this, and they still need lots of money to pay that off. See the first link below for more information, or if you wish to donate.

There will probably be a party there or somewhere nearby on June 6, which is Ms Kogawa's birthday.

Correction: In my previous article, I stated that there is virtually no remaining traces of the original Japanese neighbourhood in the Downtown East Side. I was wrong about that: there is the Japanese Hall in the 500 block of Alexander Street. It was originally built in 1908, and has a new addition built in 2000, which holds a language school. The historical plaque on the front - in both English and Japanese - states that it was the only piece of property returned to the Japanese community after WWII.

On April 28, 2006, The Land Conservancy non-profit group announced that it will be buying and preserving the house. It will be turned into an educational centre, and used for a Writer In Residence program.

They had to take out a whopper mortgage to do this, and they still need lots of money to pay that off. See the first link below for more information, or if you wish to donate.

There will probably be a party there or somewhere nearby on June 6, which is Ms Kogawa's birthday.

Correction: In my previous article, I stated that there is virtually no remaining traces of the original Japanese neighbourhood in the Downtown East Side. I was wrong about that: there is the Japanese Hall in the 500 block of Alexander Street. It was originally built in 1908, and has a new addition built in 2000, which holds a language school. The historical plaque on the front - in both English and Japanese - states that it was the only piece of property returned to the Japanese community after WWII.

Beck’s Home

"The Best Thing You Ever Did"

Artichoke Panzanella

Fred was moved to declare "Zeez eez ze best ting you eveur did" when I first made him this dish about a month and a half ago. I stared at him agog. "The best thing I ever did?" I nervously responded, my mind flashing with mini movies of all the other wonderful things I had done in the presence of Fred. He quickly realized his faux pas and amended his statement. "No, eetz not the best ting you eveur did, eetz ze best salad you did so far." Phew, I thought, as he added an A+++ to the recipe just for good measure.

I learned to make this salad at Tante Marie's Cooking School last year, in a class taught by Jessica Lasky who adapted it from Everyday Greens by Annie Sommerville. The following recipe includes further adaptations from me.

Stage 1 - Prepare the Artichokes:

Prepare 3 medium artichokes, trimming the tough outer leaves, halving to remove the choke and then cutting each half into three or four depending on the size.

In a saucepan, prepare a cooking liquid using 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup white wine, the juice of two lemons, 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar, 2 garlic cloves (unpeeled but smashed with a knife), a couple of sprigs of thyme, one bay leaf, salt and pepper.

Drop the prepped artichokes into the liquid, cover loosely and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until the artichokes are tender.

Drain, removing the herbs and garlic and then toss the vegetables with tablespoon of olive oil, 1 medium garlic clove, minced, the zest of a small lemon plus salt and pepper to taste.

For the Panzanella Artichoke Salad:

1 day-old loaf rustic white bread 1/2 cup Olive Oil, plus more for bread 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 tbsp sherry vinegar 1 cup cured green olives, pitted 1/2 lb arugula salad 2 oz manchego cheese, grated salt and pepper Preheat the oven to 350F

Remove crusts from the bread and cut into cubes.

In a large bowl, toss the bread with enough olive oil to soak into the cubes and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the cubes on a large baking tray and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes until they are crisp and golden.

Mix the vinegars in a bowl with salt and pepper. Whisk in 1/2 cup of olive oil slowly, until the dressing blends and emulsifies.

In a large bowl toss together the artichokes, bread, olives and the vinaigrette and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Immediately prior to serving toss in the arugula leaves and the grated Manchego cheese.

Sample the salad and then adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Serve, enjoy!