The journal and calligraphy pen sound like a wonderful idea. It can only get better. I believe that fine, small motor control improves with age and also that most boys are not interested in pretty writing. Perhaps relate architecture to nicer writing. My 48 yr. old son grabs a pen and looks like he is going to print an "X" instead of his name. It's almost, and may be, a grip where the pen is held by four fingers surrounding it. He also prints/ writes and presses down hard on the paper, enough to make indentations. An observer, a caring observer, could guess that he has a hard time with writing/printing. He hunts and pecks on the computer and claims that he is proficient and fast (probably in defense of an anticipated suggestion from mom that typing lessons are in order). In kindergarten he was tested and we learned that his small motor skills were at a 2 year old's level. He played tennis beginning at 5, became a ranked player, #1 singles at a competetive high school, mvp on the college tennis team, and taught tennis during college and law school. He is now out of state, arguing at the Supreme Court of a southwestern state. Last Feb he did his mommy proud when he argued before the U.S.Supremes, a parental payback. He is a really nice person and has to work extra hard. He talks to himself. Daughter2 holds a writing implement in an unusual way. Not efficient. Experts told us that after age 9 it is difficult to change one's writing and/or grip. I don't believe that for one moment. Eye surgeons write illegibly sometimes. It is a baby wart. The Pittman Honor Roll is as dead as cursive. We want our kids to be perfect in every way, and they really are.

Thank you everyone. Actually I am not sure if that dinner was for Easter or for Passover. LOL! John, that was done using a torch. I have done crisping the outside using the pan and the oven as well. It all depends on the end results I want. Those pearls are tapioca pearls. They come in small and big like the ones in the pictures. They really make the wild rice dish special both in appearance and in taste. In contrast, wild rice is completely loose without any starch to bind them together, which is kind of nice. In this dish, the tapioca gave the wild rice a little starch and that gave the wild rice more like regular rice in mouth feel, which was interesting also. Annie, that's shaved dark chocolate power on the strawberries. I had a separate dish with chocolate shavings that people can dip the strawberries in. This way it's up to each to decide how much chocolate to put on. The green stuff is just home grown alfalfa sprouts. You can use different shape containers to sprout them into different shapes. FOAS, LOL! That looks more like Billy Crystal than Obama. Sous vide lamb at a higher temperature (150F) is great. Once you set the temperature, nothing can go wrong. dcarch

Posted by lorijean44 "-----Talk about hijacking a thread!! ;-) ----" Lori is absolutely correct. I admit (with a guilty smile) that I am the first one to highjack this thread. This is not very nice of me. I am apologizing to diinohio and to everyone. dcarch

jojoco “This picture is fair game. I can't help but think you were going for the shock value of this photo. But maybe the fact that I am female, and a mom times four, colors my perspective. It is not a great leap on my part to suggest that it looks like a maternity ward, in progress. I am guessing that you wanted to create that impression by placing the quail eggs in the vicinity of the gaping openings. All that is missing are the stirrups. I know you like to take chances with your presentations. Some hit, some miss. In my opinion, this is one of the misses. Jo” The interesting responses to this thread nudged my memory. Let me first tell a little story to explain why I agree with Jo and a few others. A while back I traveled to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids to visit a friend. That day, there was a sudden historic snow storm which was not forcasted. All modes of transportation were shut down. Everything stopped. Most of the staff could not get to the hospital. They were only able to get a few doctors in by helicopter. I was stuck in the hospital. Because of the severe shortage of staff, so I volunteered myself. They gave me a gown and assigned me to help out in the maternity ward. For four days and three nights, I was observing all the actions of child birth, stirrups and all. Based on that unique experience, Yes, I can understand where Jo is coming from, and why she is understandably viewing this dish more gynecological than my original intent, which was gastronomic. Jim, we do have to recognize the fact that there are differences between male and female methodologies even when it comes to cooking aesthetics. Posted by jimster “ Wild rice and quail seem to me a perfect combination. And the cultural lesson is a nice bonus. It's a winner in my book. ---“ Thanks Jim. Unfortunately (?) the dish went too well. I got an e. mail this evening from another friend in the same party, inviting me for dinner and asking me to make another quail dish. I have been typecast ! Posted by lindac “OOH Jo...I thought that and didn't say it....even the dribble of red sauce..... Too suggestive...graphic...and sure killed my appetite!” Next time when you come to dine with me, I will remind myself to hide the ketchup. Posted by foodonastump “LOL, Jo! I'd be surprised if he really meant it that way, but count me as another who had thoughts along those lines. Still looks good to me though. I'm actually glad I saw this picture. Just yesterday I stumbled upon quail in a section of the meat case that I never looked at, so I bought eight. Regardless of how I decide to cook them, I now know to do something about holding those legs back. I can see my wife having an issue with the way they're flailing like that.” Thanks FOAS. I am glade that you found the quails. I wish you had won the wild rice lotto. They are that good together. Do check with your wife as to how you present the birds. Come to think of it, may be that’s why the French have an interesting way to enjoy Ortolan Bunting. Posted by therustyone “-------You are to be commended on the way you take food preperation and presentation one step farther than most of us do. You make it educational as well as delicious and artful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and your talents with us! Rusty “ Thank you Rusty. I had some dealing with some folks from the Santa Fe Indian Museum ages ago. I got some education about the various cultures of Native Americans, which I have completely forgotten. This is just a little refresher course for me for now. Posted by rob333 “Bet it was tasty D! Jo/Linda's vision never crossed my mind. Hm. Wonder what that says about me, because the women (of which I am abosolutely) seem to be on that jag, but the men do not. Double hm.” Thanks Robin. There is no skill involved with this dish to make it taste good. I started out with all good tasting ingredients and just mixed them together. You are right to point out some thing that has always fascinated me, that people have such drastically diverse views and motives. Posted by jimster “ Sexual symbolism can be found everywhere, “ No. I disagree. I find potatoes devoid of any hint of sexual symbolism. “ ----BTW, whatever happened to Freud��"“ And why do we need Freud now that we have Dr. Phil? “----I hope dcarch's presentation can be appreciated for its culinary and artistic merits, of which it has many. Jim, it is obvious to me that you have never worked in a maternity ward, or you wouldn’t feel this way about my work. :-) Posted by annie1992 “----The quail looks delicious and I'm sure the kids would love the tiny eggs. ----- I just thought that the eggs didn't "go" with the rest of the meal. ------ “ Thanks Annie. I am floored by your comment. I actually had problems with including quail eggs with this dish. They just don’t seem to belong, aesthetically and taste wise. I decided finally to add the eggs because I had planned on discussing with the kids the science of the age old question of which come first, the egg or the hen? I did trick the kids and all the adults after I show them a colorful unpeeled quail egg. I asked if anyone knew what’s the color of the egg of most colorful bird, the peacock. Then I told them that peacocks can’t lay eggs. Posted by caliloo “Well... I have to be honest, my first reaction was that they look tortured. Actually, I have that reaction to most of dc's presentations. I rarely see dc trying to work in harmony with ingredients, it is always a tortured forcefulness that ends up with some sort of bizarre creation. Added that they are often color corrected beyond anything that could occur in nature, there is nothing at all appetizing or appealing to me about this or many of your other photos. --------- Alexa” Thank you very much for your honest rendition of my follies. In the future, I will endeavor to be less sadistic in the pantry with work and make an attempt to emulate your artistic accomplishments. Posted by cookebook “Those ladies would not look so wanton if you had tied their little legs together before cooking, but then someone would probably accuse you of representing bondage lol” LOL. I will be known as agent 007, James Bondage of the feathered kind. Posted by teresa_mn “dcarch - it never ceases to amaze me what creations/concoctions you come up with. Jo's image of a delivery room did not occur to me. But she expressed her constructive critique in a diplomatic way. I liked the way she said she thought this was one of your misses. Jo you sound like a teacher - or a mom of four! I think creativity is subjective. And I am amazed that you have the patience to do this stuff. Teresa” Thanks Teresa. I agree with everything you said. ( I don’t mean the part about me being the best LOL) . Jo presented a valid point of view and I respect her and thank her for that. Over all, it is intriguing to learn what observers have to say about your work, but it is equally interesting to observe the observers and find out where they are coming from, their motivations, and what makes them tick. Have fun and keep cooking, guys dcarch