Dining, Arts & Entertainment

You swing open your front door and walk into your home.  You notice sweet, warm aromas filling the air around you.  Your mouth starts to water as you notice a plate of homemade, fresh out of the oven, chocolate chip cookies.  Wouldn’t we all like to walk home to the scent of freshly baked cookies waiting for us to indulge in? 

When Koreans sit down to a traditional meal, they relax on a clean paper floor.  The meal comes to them on a low table.  Usually food is served in a nearly arranged collection of small metal bowls.  Generally used is pair of chopsticks and a flat soupspoon.  Foreigners may be surprised to find that Koreans will often eat a bowl of rice and may be have an extra helping even though dishes remain unfinished. 

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us.  This is the day to celebrate your relationship, so with that said, here are a few tips on how to celebrate.
Since these are hard economic times, you might decide to make a special dinner at home rather than taking them to an expensive restaurant.  Put on some music and add a little candlelight to add intimacy.  Serve dinner later than usual so you aren’t rushed.  Relax and enjoy one another; there is no better way to show how much you care.

Mediterranean food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, and as a regular diet it is proven to be the healthiest way of eating.  In her new book “Mediterranean Harvest, Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine,” noted cookbook author Martha Rose Shulman brings us more than 500 delicious dishes from Spain, France, Italy, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa.  This book is the culmination of years of meticulous research, as Shulman sought out and savored the best recipes from each of these areas.

Traditional dating, before the Internet was popular, was a daunting task for singles looking to enter the singles and dating market.  Before online dating emerged, asking people out on a date meant risking rejection not to mention losing some self-confidence.  Once upon a time knowing how and where to begin and which approach to use wasn’t easy.

Even if you eat a low-fat diet at home, it is often difficult to pass up high-fat items when dining at restaurants.  A generation ago, this was not much of a problem.  Eating out was a rare treat, take-out was a rarity and only a few pizza places delivered.  Today, eating out is routine, many people would not survive without take-out, and all sorts of restaurants deliver. 

Whether you’re an aged collector of wine or an amateur, proper storage of wine is vital.  And since building a wine cellar can get quite expensive, don’t worry, you don’t need one.  Sparkling wine, white wine and red wine all have different demands, but there are seven general rules of thumb you should keep in mind when storing your wine.

September 30, 1955 — The final day of life for movie star James Dean and the birth date of a Hollywood legend.  On that fateful autumn day, Dean drove from Hollywood in his new Porsche 550 Spyder to an auto race in Salinas, California. He never made it.  Just outside of Cholame, California, Dean’s Porsche collided head-on with another car and he died at the scene.  He was only 24 years old.

The Basil Thai Fusion is here, bringing the Santa Clarita Valley not only authentic “Fusion” style cuisine but also a unique innovative experience for all to explore.  From the exotic tastes to the decorative atmosphere, The Basil Thai Fusion brings excellence to each and every customer. 

Remember when we were little kids at a party?  Our mothers pushed us to go and say hello to someone, make friends, take a chance.  Now, some years later, we find those words of advice nagging us in the adult world of social events.  I’ve always been in awe of people that can “work a room,” comfortable in any social situation and able to strike up a conversation with anyone on virtually any topic.  It’s an art form to be watched, admired and emulated. 

Who could resist a platter full of mouth watering savory barbecue ribs?  Or mountains of fresh greens topped with your favorite barbecued chicken?  What about a delectable triple chocolate cake?  It’s plain and simple, there’s no shortage of flavor at Rattler’s Bar B Que.  Come with an appetite, and you’ll surely be fed. 

The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley will be the exclusive organization to sell tickets for the upcoming AT&T Champions Classic Golf Tournament in the Santa Clarita Valley.  John Mahaffey, President of the Club and Craig Peters, President of the Club’s Foundation (the fundraising arm of the Club) announced the collaborative effort with the AT&T Champions Classic to be held from March 9-15, 2009 at the Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita.  Ticket sales will benefit the work of the local Boys & Girls Club that was founded in the Santa Clarita Valley 40 years ago. 

I often wonder how they get the names for things.  Why is it when you go to the beauty salon they call it a permanent when it’s only temporary?  Try going bald. That’s permanent.  Someone came up to me the other day and told me that your hair continues to grow after you’re dead.  Fantastic!  There are dead men doing better than me.  I am also getting sick of all these serial killers in this world…and their hair.  Charles Manson.  Have you seen him lately?  Full, thick, lofty head of hair.  Jeffery Dahmer had a full head of hair.  Richard Ramirez, you guessed it.  Full head of hair.

Come visit Railroad Café in Old Town Newhall! We offer our own blend of coffee that is simply amazing.  Mindy Bish and Lori Lazarek, who have been residents of Santa Clarita for many years, have opened this business.

When you walk through the doors of Geisha’s Japanese Restaurant, the first thing you notice is the atmosphere.  The rich, dark wood sushi bar and the intimate private booths line the walls with ambience blue and white lighting. 

Buying wine should be as enjoyable as drinking it.  In a store devoted exclusively to wine and wine accessories, customers are more likely to discover lesser known boutique wines.  These small artisan vineyards rely upon a savvy wine storeowner to carry their label and curious wine lovers to seek them out.

It’s January, and I’m sure many of you have made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight.  Let me tell you — there is a right way and a wrong way.  Most people choose the wrong way: a severe, overnight reduction in calories along with low-intensity aerobic exercise.  Most of the time, these programs not only fail, but end up leaving you fatter than when you started.  The wrong way starts with the wrong goal — losing weight.  When you think about it, you really just want to lose fat.  Weight is just a symptom of the problem.  In order to lose fat, you have to eat and exercise right.

This month’s topic: Pick-up lines.  No, not the usual, “Haven’t we met somewhere before?” lines, but the real ones.  Those lines that you wish later you had handled differently.