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A postcard after sunrise

By Kris Vera-Phillips

Exotic flavors, sounds and characters

Posted Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 3 comments

Last week, Dana introduced me to a new culinary delight -- bugs. She brought back some samples of Prof. Z's cooking to share with the rest of the newsroom. I joined the few brave souls in popping fried, sauteed and baked insects into my mouth. Once I got over the fact these creepy crawly creatures once roamed underground, in the mud and other places I don't enjoy visiting, I was left with a surprising and satisfying flavor on my palate. Since I produced a delayed news show after the NBA Finals...these bugs helped keep up my energy through the night.

These are sauteed meal worms...some with garlic salt and others with sugar and cinnamon. I lean towards salty flavors and I couldn't get enough of the garlic salted worms. I'm amazed how these bugs compliment and take on the characteristics of their seasonings - the same way tofu takes on the flavors of other ingredients.

Our intern, Stephanie, had the nerve to pop a few bugs in her mouth. It looked like she enjoyed them.

Thankfully, I didn't start craving cooked insects when I was snapped a shot of this moth at Wakarusa.

I spent last Saturday enjoying amazing music, positive vibes and snapping pictures for work.

I even rubbed sun-blocked shoulders with a Hollywood mover and shaker. The guy in the plaid shorts introduced himself as Alexander Payne. I knew his name sounded familiar. So I asked him if he was playwright and his friends chimed in -- saying he was a famous Hollywood producer. Like an idiot, I nodded and racked my head to connect his name to a movie....all I could do was say hi again and compliment the crew for making the trip down from Nebraska. They also asked me to take a shot of the cool moth on their friend's tie-dyed t-shirt. (as seen above). They held on to my pen and pad so that I could focus my camera lens on the delicate wings

Later, I did an imdb and google image search on his name. Payne directed Elections,

About Schmidt plus Sideways (which happens to be one of my all-time favorite films on California and the Central Valley wine culture). I felt like an idiot.

Back to the musical fun in the sun. It was hot out there and barely any shade in sight. So I was impressed by Waka patrons who could dance, boogie and play volleyball on the concert grounds. I felt like I baking in an oven. However, the New Belgium beer and the yummy concert food made the heat bearable.

I visited the Bombay Palace tent and ordered this Vegetarian Curry Rice Bowl. Each bite was filled with spicy flavors and it all played nicely with the tomatoes, peas, beans and mushrooms.

Later in the afternoon, we took a break from the concert and headed down to the Hookah House to chill out. We dipped pita bread and grape leaves in this yummy hummus dish. It's the perfect snack for anyone smoking hookah.

Inspired by Saturday's out-of-this world flavors, I whipped up a Chicken Tikki Masala dish with jasmine rice, white pozole and straw mushrooms on Tuesday.

This is the finished product in my paella pan. It was a tasty lunch and I had plenty of leftovers.

I'll post some videos of the musical acts from Wakarusa, soon.