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“It was the best of times, it was the worse of times…” so begins the famous book….
Oceano has highs and lows also…. rampant methamphetamine use and high trucks.
Oceano sits at the edge of a huge sandbowl… a series of dunes with an Offroad Vehicular Recreation Area, so there are numerous tall trucks with wide tires designed to navigate the deep loose sands.
Here we see a small house of the type built in the forties and early fifties. There are a number of these small homes still occupied in the local area, and there are some boarded up and closed off such as this one.
We wouldn’t want the owner of this home to rent substandard living quarters to people who can’t afford the local exorbitant rents… far better that they sleep in their cars on the street.
Some folks I know at Magic Casting are looking for a couple for a horror film. They put out a casting alert, and are looking for folks who fit the looks and would like to speak to them about being in the film. If you’d like to submit yourself, you can write to Chrystine at Magic Casting in Buellton California. magictalent805@gmail.com
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If you’re a fan of the “Horror Film” genre….this project is for you!
It will be filming April 17-18, 24-25, and a possible additional weekend.
Rehearsals will be scheduled Sat. afternoons stating Mar. 13th depending on
availability of actors and those will be paid.
All is Santa Barbara location.
Compensation is $500. + 1% net to actors.
YOUNG MOM & DAD (25-35YRS) Caucasian as daughter has been cast and she has
fair complexion.
Please let me know if this is YOU, also feel free to forward to acting
friends, etc.
Thanks,
Chrystine
I know a gal in Los Angeles who volunteers her time to a Community Arts Organisation in Los Angeles. As part of fund-raising for the operations to help provide free after school programs, she is training for the Los Angeles marathon. This is a good organization worthy of a little help from the national community.
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Dear Friends, Family, and Colleagues,
For the past year I have been training hard so I
can get myself prepared to run the infamous Los Angeles Marathon for the second time.
In training for this marathon I have lost over
fifty pounds, have gained a healthier lifestyle for myself, and have come to
understand that my growth as a person is in direct reflection to how I give back.
In choosing to give back I am running this
marathon to raise funds for an amazing organization called Inside Out
Community Arts, which provides free after school programs and
services for at-risk youth and families in Los Angeles. I have worked for this
organization now for over three years as a teaching artist and am currently on
the Board of Directors as the Artist Representative. This work is a labor of
love for me. I love these kids. They are the reason I do what I do and I am who
I am. Inside Out Community Arts gives youth from all backgrounds are given the
tools, confidence and inspiration to make a positive difference in their
communities and the world.
My goal is to raise $3000 dollars or more but I
can’t do this alone I need your help.You can help me out by
donating ten dollars or whatever you can, also if you know any else who would
like to help these amazing kids please forward them this email.
Please click on the link at the bottom of this
email to support at-risk youth in Los Angeles!
If you would like to sponsor or join me at the
L.A. Marathon as a walker or runner to help raise funds for Inside Out, please
visit Inside Out’s registration page…we’d love to
have you out there with us!
Either way, thanks for supporting me and an
organization that’s truly making a positive difference in our community!
In Service and Gratitude
Sandy Bowles
Click here to visit my personal web
page in support of Inside Out Community Arts.
or
copy and paste this link into your web browser:
An article with a Cactus recipe was brought to our attention….
It sounds delicious, and is written by one of Australia’s most well-known and respected chefs, Steven Manfredi.
I wrote him and asked if I may include it on our blog, he graciously permitted us to reprint it…
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Prickly Pear Souffles by Steve Manfredi
It may be difficult for some to think of Captain Arthur Phillip as Australia’s first ecological vandal but he brought in one of the most invasive plants ever to come into this country. He collected some cochineal-infested prickly pear in Brazil and sailed the cacti to these shores with the First Fleet.
The cochineal insects feed on prickly pear and, when processed, these insects produce the crimson-coloured dye carmine. Amongst other things, this colour was used for the red coats of British soldiers at the time.
In 1886 the first (Commonwealth) Prickly-pear Destruction Act was passed though the cactus was already a problem 20 years earlier. It wasn’t until 1996 that the (NSW) Prickly Pear Act 1987 was repealed and management for the “noxious weed” transferred to local governments.
While it’s still a problem in certain areas of Australia, people from parts of the Mediterranean and the Americas adore its fruit. It looks like a small barrel about 6-8 centimetres long but care should be taken in handling the fruit because the fine hairs will lodge in the skin.
Peeling is easy. Handle the fruit with a gloved hand. Cut off each of the ends using a sharp knife. Make a slit skin-deep down the length of the fruit and peel the skin away from the pulp. Prickly pear fruit can range from red to deep yellow and is sweet and juicy.
FROZEN PRICKLY PEAR SOUFFLES (photo)
This dish is based on a recipe from Neapolitan chef Alfonso Iaccarino and can be made with prickly pear of any colour.
10 prickly pears, peeled
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
250ml fresh cream, whipped
3 tbsp caster sugar
4 tbsp sugar syrup
Make the sugar syrup first by boiling 100ml water with 100g caster sugar. Once it boils, cool. Whatever is left can be refrigerated indefinitely. Place 8 prickly pears in a food processor and puree. Place in a sieve, over a bowl and separate juice from seeds, discarding the latter. Place yolks in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Whisk continuously over a simmering pot of water for about 5 minutes until fluffy and thick like zabaglione or custard. Put aside to cool. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add remaining tablespoon of sugar and keep whisking until stiff peaks form. Gently fold half the prickly pear juice with the whisked egg whites, whipped cream and cooled yolk/sugar mixture until evenly incorporated. Ladle into 6 moulds and place in the freezer for at least 4 hours. Mix the sugar syrup with the remaining prickly pear juice. To serve, unmould the soufflés by dipping the bases quickly in hot water. Spoon a little sauce on and serve with wedges of the remaining prickly pear. Serves 6.
PRICKLY PEAR WITH MASCARPONE CREAM AND ROAST PISTACHIO
8 prickly pears, peeled
200g caster sugar
3 egg whites
300g fresh mascarpone
80g pistachios, roasted and roughly chopped
¼ (quarter) tsp ground cinnamon
Puree the peeled prickly pears in a food processor. Sieve over a bowl and separate juice from seeds, discarding the latter. Place the puree in a saucepan with 50g of caster sugar and bring to the boil, stirring. Once boiling, turn down to a bubbling simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. Let it cool and refrigerate. Meanwhile beat the egg whites in a bowl, slowly adding the rest of the caster sugar until firm peaks form. To this add the mascarpone and fold in until the resulting mixture is light and fluffy. To serve, ladle some prickly pear puree into bowls, add a large dollop of mascarpone cream and scatter some chopped, roasted pistachios on top. Finish by dusting with ground cinnamon. Serves 8.
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I encountered two items I’ve not heard of before… one is the ‘Caster Sugar’ which is the same as what we call ‘Powdered Sugar’ in the US. The other item is ‘mascarpone’ which comes from his region of Italy (Lombardy) and is probably best known as the essential ingredient, along with coffee and savoiardi biscuits, in the popular dessert tiramisu. It should be fairly easy to buy from Italian providores or even supermarkets. See here:
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