Drink the wild air...: Back in the water

I borrowed a recipe for bánh mì from Menu In Progress, using chicken instead of pâté . Came out pretty well! Not nearly as good as Saigon Sandwiches in SF or K's Sandwiches in SD (both big winners in my book), but still pretty good. It's easier than you think - give it a shot. The hardest part is getting really good bread.

Finally I'm getting back to diving! I dove La Jolla Cove a couple of times over the last week. For those that haven't been: It's a mix of rocky reef and sandy bottom with towering kelps, diverse macroalgae, and dense seagrass (the surfgrass Phyllospadix spp.). We saw fishes including bright orange garibaldi, kelp bass, sheephead, fluorescent blue banded goby, barred sand bass, sculpin, and jacksmelt. More interesting, in my opinion, are the invertebrates! There were loads of California spiny lobsters and purple urchins. We also came across other inverts, including (the more-delicious) red urchins, sheep crabs, keyhole limpets, nudibranchs, and a group of four mating giant black sea hares. Kinky, I know.

Here are some pictures from my latest dive, courtesy of some new friends with the UCSD Dive Club:

Upclose and personal with a sea star