Cultural Tourism Menus: creamy polenta layered with grilled wild mushrooms, parmesan, spinach and gorgonzola, grilled zucchini and farmers squash, baked herbed tomato slices, sour dough bread. desert: fresh figs and melon with Italian bakery cookies.

There are two artists here from former Russian states, one from Chec Republic and one from Slavicia this was a special meal for them) Red cabbage borsht with sour cream and parsley garni, three kinds of stuffed perogees (potato, meat, green cabbage) whole grain rye bread. Desert: poppy seed cake dusted with confectioners sugar.

On Monday Lauri makes additional food for us to heat up ourselves for Tuesday dinner. (heat it up night) marinated poached vegetables in a yogurt dressing with pepper, (cauliflower, green and wax beans, carrots) California lettuce salad with vinaigrette rye bread. Leftover polenta, borsht and cake were also found (heated up) and put on the counter.

Pasta with tomatoes, Catamalan olives, onions incredibly fragrant herbs. Sourdough bread. California Salad. Desert was Concord grapes with figs. Merlot, Mineral water, coffee

Grilled salmon with lemon and olive oil garnished with nasturtiums and fennel flowers. Baked French fried potato slices with rosemary pepper and garlic. potato rosemary bread. CA lettuce with pears, walnuts and stilton.

Chicken poached in tomato herb sauce with potatoes and carrots, Served with rice, California Salad and red wine (Merlot) Desert: Traditional style Bread Pudding with raisins.

Olive Bread. Small green and white squash stuffed with bulgar wheat and ground lamb. an additional bowl of the stuffing. and an Au Jus sauce. Mediterranean salad with raw onion, mint, endive, tomato, olives in a tart dressing. cucumber yogurt sauce. Wine was called California Red Lot B. very generic social realist label but on the back a description of how hip it was. It was very good, dry. Desert: fresh fruit. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, oranges in light honey sauce.

Pizza, three kinds. Italian Sausage with fresh arugala and sharp cheeses, eggplant with tomatoes and fresh parmesan, tomatoes and basil with fresh mozzarella, California Salad featuring Arugala. desert: Black Forest Cake.

lamb chops on the grill Slightly sautˇed Bruised greens (kale, Swiss chard, red chard) Butternut Squash puree (mashed squash,) baguette, Vanilla Ice cream with Strawberries and raspberries.

spinach soup with tofu, broccoli with cashews and garlic, chicken and sausage stir fry over rice, fortune cookies, Homemade lemonade.

Northern Italian Lasagna (white sauce, two layers of chicken sausage and tomatoes sandwiching a layer of spinach parmesan and ricotta) red and green cabbage, apple, pear, walnut, carrot, onion salad. For desert left over fortune cookies and fruit.

For Sunday supper Lori made something special based on what she has found out each of us like. A rare beef brisket for Sergio's last night. A succotash made with white corn, cranberry bean, lima bean, fava been, red pepper and thyme, for a couple people who expressed a love of freshly shelled beans. A slow rising walnut bread for the bread lovers. A French red for the wine lovers. And for me a chocolate pear tart, fantastic!

nachos with red tomato salsa and guacamole, Baked snapper with onions and spices, black beans, stewed squash, beer, hibiscus juice (made on the stove with flowers.) desert: Brownies with a glass of whole organic milk.

Grilled Chicken with grilled Sourdough bread, Ratatouille, California Salad, remaining hibiscus tea, Apple pie with sharp white cheddar cheese.

Chinese, barbecued duck, rice with tofu and peas, steamed buns stuffed with vegetables, oriental cabbage salad. tea

vegetable stew with creamed polenta, potato bread, fresh sliced mozzarella cheese with sliced tomatoes and basil. Chocolate cookies

Saturday night 12 of us went to a Taiwanese restaurant where Yang ordered for all. 4 appetizers: 3 different dumplings and cum chi (spicy hot!!) entrees; sea bass, fried shrimp, hand pulled noodles, spicy chicken, mooshu something, shrimp fired rice, clams in the shell, spicy green beans, a leafy vegetable that was the top of water chestnuts I think, more than I can think of. For desert we had fried banana that was brought to the table flaming then plunged into ice water so that the caramel sauce hardened in strings as they quickly threw the pieces on our plates.

pita with eggplant caviar, spiced couscous and Moroccan chicken, white wine, oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies.

Italian turkey sausage with apple stuffing, cranberry chutney, ruby Kale.

grilled quail served on mole' made of chili and peanut garnished with peanuts and Italian parsley. Salad of lettuce, jiccama, beats, grapefruit, pomegranate and a parsley based dressing, grilled flower tortillas, vanilla ice cream with strawberries, mango and a Mexican cinnamon, clove chocolate sauce.

Tibetan Restaurant in the Marina: (unusual food) The oddest was a gelatinous appetizer made of some sort of bean residue and spicy chili served on bread. Phil swore it was some animal by-product but I had to ask and find out. It was already in my stomach. The rest of the meal was tame: hand pulled noodles in lamb stew and chicken in pastry. Desert was a spiral role in cinnamon sauce. I said "Oh a Cinebun"

zucchini stuffed with eggplant and tomatoes, rice with a pea sauce, curried potatoes and cauliflower, peppered cabbage, cucumber yogurt sauce and a crispy puffed fried bread.

crudetet with onion dip, fish and corn chowder with crusty bread, small pears with gingerbread for desert.

a savory curried stew made with Chicken parts and large chunks of vegetables over rice, broccoli steamed with oyster sauce on the griddle (this was a visual treat to see being made,) CA salad, crusty bread. Red or white wine, brownies and ice cream.

Sea Bass baked on fennel twigs, salsa made with fennel, squash, onion and garlic. Large leafed tender lettuce salad with goat cheese and roasted walnuts dressed with sherry vinaigrette. Sour Dough baguette. Apple tart made with puff pastry.

Wild Mushroom lasagna (a white sauce that complemented the mushrooms and also very cheesy.) CA Salad and crusty bread. For desert: Pumpkin tart. (a rustic tart, not made in a tart pan, it had the ruff edges of the pastry folded over the top. The filling was made from fresh pumpkin that Lori baked in the shell. It had large chunks of pumpkin mashed with spices. Before being served it was sprinkled with powdered sugar. It was served with caramel sauce and wiped cream. )

fish baked in parchment with oven roasted potatoes and garlic, salad, garlic bread, Sicilian ricotta cheese cake with orange and chocolate for desert.

Last supper, not really the last dinner but a name for a dinner that all the staff and affiliates attend. It is the beginning of crab season and Lori got about 25 King crabs and boiled them. We hacked them apart and cracked them with a hammer. There was a wild mushroom and cheese on toast appetizer and romaine lettuce salad and bread. Lori made two sauces, a drawn butter and a green sauce.