Sadly Mariposa Cafe is now only a memory. Mariposa has been closed for over six years by the SF Department of Health and it nver reopened. New Lun Ting cafe has roast pork but nothing compared to the lightly seared taste of Mariposa's roast pork. Here's what I came up with trying to replicate Mariposa Roast Pork;

Pork; about five lbs. of boneless pork shoulder. With bone will do fine also.

Seasoning; stab it briskly with a fork for the seasonings to penetrate the pork
liberally sprinkle with salt, granulated garlic, pepper and vegetable seasoning.

Give it a good rub.

Let it sit overnight or at least six hours in the refrigerator.
Allow pork to return to room temperature after taking it out of the fridge.

Lightly coat with olive oil.

Sear; searing gives it a nice outer layer to lock in the flavors of the pork. you can sear the meat on all side in a hot frying pan or in a oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, flipping it over and another 15 minutes on the other side.

Roast; 375 degrees. Flipping it over every 20 minutes or so. It'll take about 90 minutes to two hours depending...I use a thermometer till it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Rest; take it out of the oven when it reaches 165 degrees. Allow for it to rest about fifteen minutes before slicing.

Gravy; saute chopped onions and garlic in a sauce pan. Separate as much of the fat as you can and scrape the pan drippings into the sauce pan. Heat up the drippings. in a separate bowl mix pillsbury gravy mix powder with about two cups of water and mix well. Slowly add into the sauce pan with drippings while stirring. A few drops of dark soy sauce for coloring.

Enjoy life.

Deacon John has banned me from the food pantry at St. Andrew's.

I usually arrived late to avoid standing in line since I have an arthritic hip that makes standing for long period uncomfortable.

When I got there no one was there...not even Sonny or Robert or John. The doors were closed. Table of food was left on the out. I thought that everyone was finished for the day and they left the food for anyone to take so I did just that. It was just some plant based Chicken, apples and garlic. I helped myself to the food. I was not the only one. There were three or four other people who showed up and also helped themselves to the food.

Suddenly deacon John appeared from upstairs. He got pissed off that I took food without my asking him. He was talking shit about me stealing. I explained to him that I thought everyone was finished and it was for us to take. But he didn't want to hear my explanation. I even offered to give everything back. He just said 'get out of here!' John whom is black gave me that ghetto shit. I guess that's life in the hood...people always stealing from you. That's life in the hood.

The following Wednesday I showed up to get my regular food pantry pick up. John started talking shit and forbid me to get any food. He said I was banned from the food pantry.

St. Andrew's food pantry is run by one guy. John is seems to be always in a foul mood. He seems to be always power tripping with the food distribution. St. Andrew's is not the only food pantry in the area and there are many food pantries in the city. I'll just have to go to another food pantry. Hopefully on that has convenient parking and handicap friendly.

I've been going to the food pantry since the pandemic. Being on a limited income and going through these rough times. it's been helpful to get food from the pantry.

Another two drugs added to my daily repertoire of meds... pentoxifylline supposedly to improve my circulation in my legs. pentoxifylline

The other is flomax. Flomax .

That makes 14 meds I take a day.

Dragon at the empress of China building in sf Chinatown [/caption]fylline" target="_blank">

I'm trying to get myself to paint an old dragon head in a Chinatown night.

With "fall back" standard time I'm in the darkness.

It is fall back time again and I find myself in the darkness again. A depressing darkness. Time to turn on the light box again. These times have been tough with the pandemic, osteoarthritis and personal economic depression. I'm broke and in pain!

But hey... things are opening up again. The senior centers are beginning to have sit down lunches again in their dining halls.

Masks are no longer required on buses.

Is the pandemic over? People are still dying from Covid though.

At the IMUUR2 Asian American art conference with artist Arlan Huang

It was hard to understand what was being said. Too intellectual for me I guess. thanks Linda and Carey Huang for taking me out by there.

as you know I have a hard time walking and carey had a wheelchair for me and I got pushed in a wheelchair for the first time and it felt good. Carey and I are the same age of 70 and here he's pushing me in a wheelchair. But it goes to show that I need a wheelchair! An electric wheelchair. I need a good rollator walker too. I need to raise some money for to purchase it.