Midsummer's Night Dream & Watermelon Gazpacho

Tunes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahb7kQoLTTA
Prince, Stevie Wonder, now Jimmy Cliff . . I swear this is not premeditated - maybe the next tunes will at least fall into the new millennium?  For now, enjoy the leather and clear sight.

Quote:  If you fall, it is not a question of how deep, but ultimately a question of when you choose to look up and recognize how much more you have to gain.  Chef Scotty

Subject: One last run. My Easter Sunday, turquoise colored, second-hand purchased Adidas got a bit of work last night as I meandered Santa Monica Boulevard with one purpose in mind- Should I stay in LA?

A quest, a purpose, a destiny foretold.  Action is undoubtedly the necessary catalyst inherent to an epic journey.  The results realized from ones decisions, choices & considerations.  I am a dreamer; a man elected to some sense of virtue and with it comes open subjection and interrogation (often in the form of jealousy, lust, or dependence).  It's unavoidable or at least my experiences and tampered past have delineated such a verdict.  I've rendered myself from victim to a role of optimistic hero . . . and resided back to that first step in evaluating the "who am I."  I've also had flashes of anger and resentment "f'k you and your glorified judgement of me," but in all seriousness; I can lame blame to nobody but myself.  Hell, they are probably better off for guarding their ego and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I have found myself envious of their chameleon-like, socially modified performances.  Ignorance & conformity is obviously an easier path - I just can't walk it.  Never could, never will.

The night felt like my younger years as an adventurous, free spirit pacing State Street (Madison, WI), sipping cappuccino's at Michelangelo's Cafe, canvassing the Sharma store for inspired readings of Thomas Moore, Eastern Religions and other physic medians of various sorts.  I was riding the wave of uncertainty and pubescence exploration.  I would travel alone, often scribbling in my journal, most often the source of consideration being none other than my questionable sexuality.  These times were an investment in discerning my emotions and more or less sustaining a complete conversation with the fourteen personalities comprising the persona of Scotty Wagner.  The Chef being only one'em! 

Weho - spoke to me tonight; or perhaps it should be referenced as Los Angeles for the homosexual elements had little to do with the humidity, the reflective lights, the rise of possibility and the absence of loss or need.  I felt free, not in a an unbounded way but a hummingbird seemingly floating from one blossom to the next.  I let myself go, dreaming of possibilities and watching the visions bloom before my eyes.  Then I'd blink and find my feet planted in front of an empty storefront. 

You see being a dreamer, you enevitably have to wake up?  The reality that you wish to create exists only in your own world.  Is it possible to merge the two?  I think so.  I hope so.  I believe it to be evident to the very existence of my own nature.  But here again, I am as much part of the problem as I am the solution.  Freud might have the answer, but I haven't read him up good enough to the know the difference.

with Culinary Blessings,

                     Chef Scotty

Recipe: Scallop Sashimi with Watermelon-Cucumber Gazpacho

• 1 3-pound seedless watermelon, diced (about 5 cups), divided
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium-size red bell pepper, seeded, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium-size yellow bell pepper, seeded, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 small jalapeño chile, seeded, minced
• 3 pale green inner celery stalks, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 small red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
• ¼ cup finely chopped thai basil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup fresh scallops (wash in a bit of champagne or white wine for added panazzle!)
• ½ cup fresh origins pea shoots

Preparation

Puree 4 cups watermelon in blender until smooth. Transfer puree to large bowl. Add remaining 1 cup diced watermelon and next 10 ingredients; stir to combine. Cover gazpacho and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

Divide gazpacho among bowls; top with freshly sliced scallops & fresh pea shoots.