Letter to Julia 20140512

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

Hi there, my beloved wives!  I love you, I love you!  I pray we were together in love and happiness, always.  I just got done peeling bamboo shoots for my Mom.  She's going to make her famous bamboo shoots in dates and brown sugar pickle again.  The stuff doesn't go bad.  I had the 2 years ago batch yesterday with my steak, and it was delicious.  Bamboo is the highest form of grass.  I love bamboo because it makes great drumsticks, because it curves naturally.  Those other drumsticks are straight, so I use them for rolling out dough for my morning flat bread.  A bamboo shoot is edible if you are able to snap it out from the bamboo cluster.  Even so, it must be peeled, and only the tender parts can be used.  The tip is the most tender, and I like to use it for soup because it unravels like noodles.  My Mom likes them fresh, but I like to marinade them in slat water for at least a week or two.  Tastes like sauerkraut.