Fresh Mint

Dinner at Fresh Mint vegetarian restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona

I don’t review restaurants here on my blog but this new place in Scottsdale is worth mentioning due to the rarity of just such an eatery. Fresh Mint is a vegetarian restaurant that is no less than wonderful. I am not a vegetarian but my wife Caroline is, so finding a place that caters to her likes is quite the coup. Add to the equation that I love it too and we have a winning new restaurant we will return to often. On our first visit last week we tried the pepper steak and the green apple tofu curry – both were awesome. Yes, I did say steak, and yes I did say vegetarian; the steak is some kind of soy product. I don’t really want to know precisely what it is, suffice to say it was delicious. This evening we had the rainbow vegetable stirfry and the soy beef delight noodles. The banana fritters on tapioca as a dessert hit the spot. We love Fresh Mint, a big Thank You to the owners who up and left Maui to open this new outlet, bringing us a small taste of paradise.

Storm in the Distance

Monsoon clouds on the horizon approaching Phoenix

It’s getting late in July and there hasn’t been much of a monsoon season yet. Late this afternoon, though, thunderheads appeared on the horizon. Try as I might I couldn’t capture one of the many lightning bolts that appeared at the base of the anvil. I spent the day freezing carrots, freezing squash, making granola, and an Indian dish called kadhai paneer that will find its way into the freezer. I also donated nearly a hundred of our books to the library in our continuing efforts to downsize. After spending the day on the domestic front a nice hard storm with a house rattling thunder and lightning show would have given some real excitement to the day.

Beard Be Gone

Caroline Wise, Sonal Patel, and John Wise in Pheonix, Arizona July 18, 2008

Every 10 years curiosity grabs hold of me and I wonder what my face looks like under the beard and so it was upon coming home this evening that I reached for the beard trimmer and a razor and cut the hair from my face. NO – I do not like seeing myself this way. Something is missing. I feel as though I look like everyone else. Worse, it feels like a stranger is looking back at me from the mirror. This week will have been the last time before 2018 that I will shave. A great aspect of not shaving is the freedom from taking a razor-sharp piece of cold steel to my throat every day and scraping my face raw. I love my beard. Long live the beard.

Okra Flower

The flower of the okra plant

I was briefly out on the farm this morning but lack of sleep and a holdover headache from the night before had me leaving early. Prior to making the long drive back to Phoenix, I was talking with Rob and Jerry who were digging up sweet potatoes next to the okra when I realized that okra flowers. While not a big deal, it is something I hadn’t known. It’s nice to be easily entertained by nature.

Khushbu

Kushbu Patel, expectant mom and friend

This is mom-to-be Khushbu Patel, at her baby shower, we attended last night. Khushbu and her husband Saurin had invited us some years ago to their engagement and now here we were already going to their baby shower. The friends we have made in the Indian community and how they welcome Caroline and me stand out as an absolute high point in our lives here in Phoenix, Arizona.