MALIBU WAY OF LIFE
By Jody Stump
I don’t know if many people have this problem, but it takes me a while to ease into summer. Every year, I have this vestigial murmur in my mind left over from the busyness of winter. That annoying inner voice insists that I have bright bundles of red-flagged tasks still un-done on my Outlook files and there’s a locust’s nest of beeping on my cell phone telling me I’ve missed calls. Electronic signals tug me back from the lure of summer’s lazy days to a restive angst that I must have places to go and people to see.
In order to kick back, I have to unplug. And, I’ve noticed that most of my friends need just the same kind of ex-communication from their Blackberries to truly relax. I know only one surefire local way to cut loose from modern life: cast off the dock lines on a lovely boat and sail over to the backside of Catalina Island. There, rugged mountains block the signals and, on the voyage over, the usual 20-degree heel of the boat makes pecking on my laptop too awkward to manage. Bobbing gently in the sea-swells and racing ahead at 8 or 9 knots, there is nothing to do but lean back and keep a watchful eye on the horizon for China-bound freighters.
We have a pair of delightful friends, Bob and Kathy Patterson, who have the perfect get-away vessel-sleek, fast and big enough for two, couples that is. Aptly named Lark, it’s a free spirit on the water that seems to just attract laughter and the best of times. Our crossings have been blessed with pilot whale escorts, massive pods that skim along in the wake of our bow for a mile or so. In the spray, the pale grey of their underbellies is almost iridescent. This year, dolphins have been as common as whales, although more aloof and livelier. Those show-offs of the sea jump and frolic around us, racing ahead in sprints and belly-bumping their companions, setting off mini-rainbows from their fins. The middle of the channel has been a magical transit space, virtually a-froth in sea life.
Our destination in Catalina is Cat Harbor, the backside bay behind Two Harbors in a land lost in the 19th century. Not only are there no cell-phone towers, toilets are Porta potties and showers are cool dips in the sea. It’s a life so simple, hors d’oeuvres are line-caught sashimi and supper is grilled on a makeshift hibachi hung over the boat’s transom. When dusk settles into the narrow bay, most lights are fiery flickers ruffled on the waves and the hush is primordial.
One night, Bill and I walked over the isthmus to the only “hot spot” in town, Doug’s Harbor Reef at Two Harbors. There, under shaggy dry palm fronds, we wiggled our toes in the sand and slurped down the island’s signature grog, a Buffalo Milk. It’s a luscious concoction of Kahlua, vodka, crème de banana and white crème de cacao that chases away any lingering tremors of undone to-do’s that we left on the continent. It’s very dark when we wander back across what used to be a dusty landing strip for very small planes. In the dimmest of light, I bump into something large and fuzzy that I didn’t remember from our out-bound trip and whisper to Bill, “Are we lost? I don’t remember any bushes.”
He tugs me away, growling in an undertone, “It’s not a bush,” as the hulking form shuffles silently across our path. I’ve run into a buffalo come to graze in the cool of the evening.
There’s a magic to the place that makes every trip a happy memory. This year’s visit was the perfect path to lulling my senses into summer and another visit is coming soon to cap the season before the full rush of autumn changes everything. If you haven’t been there lately, enjoy your life and give your cell phone an island interlude.
Bob and Kathy’s
Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Serves 8
Bob and Kathy Patterson are two of the most fun and generous people we know-but what makes them especially delightful friends is their skill in the kitchen. Both were trained in the basic techniques one learns growing up in households that worship good food, and they were blessed with adventurous spirits. The result is fusion cooking at its finest. Here is a recipe they concocted for a party a few years ago. Everyone attending begged for the secrets. Here they are. Since Bob and Kathy are splash-and-dash cooks, quantities are not really important. Just give the pork has a nice, cool rest in the molasses bath and a short, hot nap on the grill.
1 package unseasoned pork tenderloin
Salt and pepper*
1/4 to 1/2 cup dark molasses
2 heaping Tbs. Dijon mustard
Large sprig of rosemary, leaves chopped
1 large knuckle of fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbs. garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1. Rinse and dry the pork. Season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Mix all other ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Add the pork and let rest in a cool place for an hour or two.
3. Heat the grill. For a gas grill, set heat to indirect, medium heat. For a charcoal grill, which we prefer, use a starter chimney. Once the fire dies down and coals are glowing with grey ash around them, spread the briquettes out.
4. Put the pork in the center of the grill and replace the cover with the vents open.
5. Cook 8 to 12 minutes per side. Turn only once. If using a meat thermometer, cook to 155 degrees. Do not overcook; it should be pink in the middle. Let the pork rest 10 minutes before carving.
* Kathy is a fan of Lawry’s pantry staples – garlic salt and lemon pepper.