Cheese

Each dish has its own stand devoted to ingredients and accoutrements. Maybe it’s the San Francisco entrepreneurial spirit in me, but I love discovering innovative projects, no matter the industry. My Berlin host suggested we cook dinner one night, and told me about a place called the Koch Haus, where people can come in, choose a menu they would like to prepare, and buy exactly what they need for those dishes for exactly the number of people they need (well, they can choose between 2, 4, or 6 people). It’s like curated grocery shopping—semi-DIY, half-homemade, if you will. I can see how this concept could appeal to single folks who don’t want leftovers and people who don’t have the time or energy to plan meals on their own, but who still want to take ownership of the kitchen and cook some special meals for themselves. I think it’s this emotional satisfaction and feeling of ownership that drives Koch Haus’s success. Apparently, it’s doing quite well in Berlin and other German cities. A tasty, if not lopsided, galette. You can also stock up on spices, salts, and kitchen supplies while you’re at it. Nifty nifty! We stepped inside and took a brief tour to examine our options. Appetizers that day included fennel salad with dates, grapefruit, and halloumi cheese; a gratin with honey and goat cheese rhubarb confit; and cream of asparagus soup with baby chard and roasted asparagus in pancetta. Main meals included choices such as: ginger duck with rice noodles and peanut-apricot chutney; sage and rosemary-crusted pork with strawberry salsa and rocket salad; and roasted salmon filet on kohlrabi with cherry tomatoes and chive beurre blanc. There were also quite a few dessert options. We settled on savory galettes with walnut, cheese, and mushroom stuffing on a bed of spinach. The recipe card prescribed 15 button mushrooms, two shallots, 50g of taleggio (which we later supplemented with my Gruyère stash), etc. . . . just enough for two servings. We grabbed the recommended bottle of wine, some ice cream, and voilà. Shopping complete, it was time to hit the kitchen. The recipe card was easy enough to follow, although I don’t think it was an easy recipe—if we had never made a roux before, or French galettes, we might have had a hard time. Luckily, it worked out! And I would even say the meal was a success. After an hour in the kitchen, my friend and I were treated to a delicious dinner, complete with great wine and good company. Will we see something like this pop up in San Francisco or other American cities? Has it already happened?

David E. Gumpert posted this snippet yesterday on Facebook: Defense testimony from one of Vernon Hershberger’s buying club members since 2004, Joseph Plasterer, as to how he came to seek out farm’s food. Plasterer: “We were looking for some natural milk sources, in early 2004.” Defense lawyer: Did you come and meet the Hershbergers? Plasterer: “Yes. We asked if we could be part of the farm… Defense: Did you have a reason? Plasterer: “My son was not thriving…” Prosecution: “Objection!” Judge Guy Reynolds: “Sustained” Plasterer: “We wanted access to unproc food that was higher qual that would not be available from the stores.” Prosecution: “Objection!’” Judge Reynolds: “Sustained. Strike the answer. The jury is to ignore that.” And an overview of the case from Mercola.com: “Farmer Faces Jail Time over Raw Milk Sales As you’re probably aware of by now, there’s a war being waged against raw milk. While raw milk sales or distribution are legal in many US states, and progress has been made toward improving access, there’s strong opposition to this trend. Each victory is hard-won. Our federal health agencies claim to be protecting us from this ‘dangerous’ product.   As you walk down the aisles of junk food at your local grocery store, pass by the liquor section, and watch individuals buying cartons of cigarettes – you have to wonder is this really about our personal safety or the safety of the milk industry. Criminal trials centering around raw milk are scheduled to take place in both Minnesota and Wisconsin this year, and a new bill threatens to make herdshare illegal in North Dakota1. (A herdshare is a private agreement between a farmer and an individual in which the farmer is paid to take care of an animal, cow for example, that belongs to one or more people. You essentially pay a onetime purchase fee to “buy a share” of a farmer’s herd, which entitles you to the benefits of owning that cow, such as a certain amount of milk each week.) On May 20, the trial of Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger began at the Sauk County Courthouse. Hershberger is charged with four criminal misdemeanors that could result in a jail sentence of up to 30 months, along with fines totaling more than $10,000. As previously reported, Hershberger’s farm was targeted by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) for supplying a private buying club with raw milk and other fresh produce. It’s important to realize that there’s much more at stake than what meets the eye here. As stated in the featured article by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund2: “DATCP has charged Hershberger with, among other things, operating a retail food establishment without a license. Hershberger repeatedly rejects this, citing that he provides foods only to paid members in a private buying club and is not subject to state food regulations. “There is more at stake here than just a farmer and his few customers,” says Hershberger, “this is about the fundamental right of farmers and consumers to engage in peaceful, private, mutually consenting agreements for food, without additional oversight. … “Hershberger, and other farmers around the country, are facing state or federal charges against them for providing fresh foods to wanting individuals. In recent months the FDA has conducted several long undercover sting operations and raids against peaceful farmers and buying clubs that have resulted in farms shutting down and consumers without access to the food they depend on.” Each day, following the day’s hearings, which began on May 20 and is expected to go on for about a month, supporters are scheduled to gather at the Al Ringling Theater across the street from the Sauk County Courthouse where leaders in the food rights movement will hold live presentations and lectures. Scheduled speakers include V

Queridos @LENOMpb @EGastronomicos - ya conocen la propuesta de la @RepGastro - estaremos en el @CorredorCRC -

[Kelley's Note: We are joined again by Kirsten for this review of the uniquely UK phenomenon that is McDonald's Tastes of America. Check out her review of Week 2's burger here. As with before, I will be adding some tidbits from an American's point of view. Enjoy!] So, here we are at the third week of McDonald’s UK’s Tastes Of America. This week is the Arizona Nacho Grande. Big nachos? I’ve had a few. Huh. Actually, I’ve not had ANY in Arizona. Maybe next time, eh? Time to fess up – I don’t really know Spanish. If we were talking coffee language, grande would mean medium, but through the generic way we all absorb media and television, I can make a good guess at what they’re getting at. There is a place in AZ called Casa Grande, I know that. Maybe they thought it was a cute play on it- you know, pick somewhere off a map? No? No? Okay, we’ll stick with the Spanish thing. Or well, Mexican thing I guess. [Kelley's Note: Poor Kirsten. Having lived in the southwest (or South-West) all my life, my mind baffles at the idea that someone would not know that grande means “large” in Spanish. Then again, I had to have Kirsten explain the definition of “quid” to me just a few days ago, so I guess we're even.] AZ is South-West. In the UK, South-West is Cornwall, where the Cornish Pasty comes from. It was invented for miners. Why is there no pasty in Minecraft? I had a pasty in Phoenix, AZ once. That was pretty unexpected. All the way over there, 3 billion miles, just to sit in a desert eating foods from my homeland? Bah! An Arizonan sure wouldn’t have that eating the Arizona Nacho Grande. Now I regret not being in Cornwall to eat one, that’d show them. That’d show you all, HAH! Ahem. Had I not holidayed in Arizona the last two years, I’d have been hard-pressed to guess at the cuisine of the State. As is, ‘TexMex’ is insulting because AZ is not Texas, but still conjures up that shared love of meat, spicy food, and Mexican flavours. Arizona was where I first discovered pulled pork. I haven’t been the same since. I came back 2 months later hoping for more (and also to attend a wedding [the wedding of the pulled pork dealer]). Had my first taste of Arizona been this burger, I’d have no idea what I could even have begun to expect. From McDonald’s: “Treat yourself to the taste of Arizona. 100% beef patty topped with nacho-style sauce, shredded lettuce, pepperoni, crunchy nacho chips and cheese with peppers, all in a sesame topped bun.” [Kelley's Note: I feel like I can chime in here with some authority, having lived in Arizona for about ten years now. I find this burger most adorable. “Nacho-style sauce” fills me with doubts. I guess the chips make sense. But you know what I like most on my nachos? Pepperoni. Nothing says Arizona and nachos like pepperoni. Forget jalapeños, or poblano chiles...pepperoni is pure Arizona.] As I predicted, we’re talking about the same dimensions and ratio of patty to bun as the Chicago Supreme. Big patties. The Nacho Grande just has a plain old, no-nonsense sesame topping on the split top. No messing around there. It keeps its fancy secrets on the inside, keeping things closer to it’s chest. Looking inside, there was no way to differentiate between the ‘nacho sauce’ and the peppered cheese. And that’s the bell pepper kind, not the cracked black stuff. Just a mountain of cheesy goo. I dug in. I can’t imagine anything finer will ever be created at McDonald’s. Taking a big bite, you get that soft, perfect beef patty, chewy tangy pepperoni, the crunch of the nacho chips, the gooey cheese and the subtly palate-refreshing shredded lettuce. It’s a mouthful of sheer flavour and texture. The ingredients on their own are a little ordinary (I would consider the nacho tasted stale outside of the ensemble) but in combination they have created something that means I will leave a tiny of

Like a hand-sized pearl–laugenbrötchen. Hello from San Francisco, readers! I am back from this portion of my European travels, but there was still a few more Germany blog posts. Here’s one. In Germany, I was willing to try anything twice, and usually, twice was enough. That included the flattened, breaded, and fried ecstasy known as schnitzel. Even one of my favorite dishes of all time, blood sausage, only made it to my plate twice. The one exception was laugenbrötchen and laugenbrezel, or traditional pretzels. There’s something magical about that lye coating, which creates the characteristic deep walnut-colored surface and light sheen. The airy, slightly chewy dough inside is the perfect complement to that slightly crackly crust. Laugenbrezel lightly dotted with large grains of salt are ubiquitous in Germany. You can find them on street corners, in subway stations, and even at the opera during intermissions. Everyone—from tousle-haired students sitting on grimy sidewalks to businessmen swathed in Jil Sander suits—loves them. The twisted arms of the laugenbrezel bring people of all walks of life together in one giant, salty, pillowy, doughy embrace. The laugenbrötchen very quickly turned into my S-bahn ritual. There was one maker near my local S-bahn station I loved, so whenever I had to hop across Berlin, I built in an extra 5 minutes into my trip to get that my dose. It was always worth it.

A: Introduced and compiled by Raoul Bedi, BASc: . In my May 1, 2013 two part article, on the work of Vandana Shiva and major milestones achieved in the overall anti-GMO  movement, that was published exclusively in The Bovine, and that has since gone viral across North America, I acknowledged some of the major food security activists and anti-GMO activists of our time. Of course such an acknowledgement is cursory and can in no way come near to acknowledging all  the sleepless efforts of millions of people, non-profit organizations, farmers and companies to identify and ultimately rid of the planet of the menace of genetically-modified seed and the patenting of life forms. I also specifically mentioned a few distinguished and pioneering Food Security activists on the West Coast of Canada and today I would like to share some of the creativity of two more tireless anti-GMO food security activists and educators: Dr. Thierry Vrain and Tony Mitra ( www.tonu.org). Tony Mitra is a tireless podcaster, videographer, photographer and blogger, who like a bloodhound on its trail, endlessly seeks positive, real life,  inspirational examples and expressions of anti-GMO and Food Security activism . Former Canadian GMO Scientist Dr.Thierry Vrain Speaks Out in Two Open Letters On The Real Dangers of Genetically Engineered Food Dr. Thierry Vrain, is a former research scientist for Agriculture Canada who is now promoting awareness about the dangers of genetically modified foods. He was recently called upon by the Anti-GMO activist community in BC to issue a rebuttal to an infomercial on the benefits of GMO’s that the Vancouver Sun published, in its print and online edition,  on behalf of Croplife, a partner of Monsanto. What was interesting was that the Vancouver Sun Editor initially refused to publish hundreds of other comments from anti-GMO activists because their statements were not “peer-reviewed” and represented “hearsay” yet Croplife did not backup a single one of its numerous claims in its original article. Finally, he relented and permitted Dr. Thierry Vrain to publish an Apr.29 rebuttal  on behalf of all of us as he felt only he was sufficiently “credentialed” to offer up an opinion. Dr. Vrain has graciously announced that he would like his rebuttal to be published as widely as possible and therefore gives full permission for anyone to share it anywhere. Since then these 2 open letters have gone viral and have been published in dozens of major Food Security blogs such as www.foodrevolution.org  and hundreds of Facebook pages. Part 4 – Dr. Thierry Vrain interviewed by BC Food Security activist Tony Mitra (www.tonu.org) Parts 1 to 3 of this video series cover a colourful general tour of the thriving herbal sanctuary of Innisfree farm in Courtenay, BC. In Part 4, Dr. Vrain discusses the  faulty assumptions of the biotech industry about how genes work, and how dangerous the consequences of that faulty science are proving to be.In the Part 5 video, Dr. Thierry Vrain further elaborates on the bad science behind the GMO technology on one side, and the absence of third party independent testing of the GMO products to assess health risks on the other. Dr. Vrain on his farm (middle) with Tony Mitra (right) and Peggy (left). From Tony Mitra’s blog. B: Open Letter One by Dr.Thierry Vrain “I retired 10 years ago after a long career as a research scientist for Agriculture Canada. When I was on the payroll, I was the designated scientist of my institute to address public groups and reassure them that genetically engineered crops and foods were safe. There is, however, a growing body of scientific research – done mostly in Europe, Russia, and other countries – showing that diets containing engineered corn or soya cause serious health problems in laboratory mice and rats. I don’t know if I was passionate about it but I was knowledgeable. I defended the side of technological advance, of science and progress. I have in

A: Introduced and compiled by Raoul Bedi, BASc: . In my May 1, 2013 two part article, on the work of Vandana Shiva and major milestones achieved in the overall anti-GMO  movement, that was published exclusively in The Bovine, and that has since gone viral across North America, I acknowledged some of the major food security activists and anti-GMO activists of our time. Of course such an acknowledgement is cursory and can in no way come near to acknowledging all  the sleepless efforts of millions of people, non-profit organizations, farmers and companies to identify and ultimately rid of the planet of the menace of genetically-modified seed and the patenting of life forms. I also specifically mentioned a few distinguished and pioneering Food Security activists on the West Coast of Canada and today I would like to share some of the creativity of two more tireless anti-GMO food security activists and educators: Dr. Thierry Vrain and Tony Mitra ( www.tonu.org). Tony Mitra is a tireless podcaster, videographer, photographer and blogger, who like a bloodhound on its trail, endlessly seeks positive, real life,  inspirational examples and expressions of anti-GMO and Food Security activism . Former Canadian GMO Scientist Dr.Thierry Vrain Speaks Out in Two Open Letters On The Real Dangers of Genetically Engineered Food Dr. Thierry Vrain, is a former research scientist for Agriculture Canada who is now promoting awareness about the dangers of genetically modified foods. He was recently called upon by the Anti-GMO activist community in BC to issue a rebuttal to an infomercial on the benefits of GMO’s that the Vancouver Sun published, in its print and online edition,  on behalf of Croplife, a partner of Monsanto. What was interesting was that the Vancouver Sun Editor initially refused to publish hundreds of other comments from anti-GMO activists because their statements were not “peer-reviewed” and represented “hearsay” yet Croplife did not backup a single one of its numerous claims in its original article. Finally, he relented and permitted Dr. Thierry Vrain to publish an Apr.29 rebuttal  on behalf of all of us as he felt only he was sufficiently “credentialed” to offer up an opinion. Dr. Vrain has graciously announced that he would like his rebuttal to be published as widely as possible and therefore gives full permission for anyone to share it anywhere. Since then these 2 open letters have gone viral and have been published in dozens of major Food Security blogs such as www.foodrevolution.org  and hundreds of Facebook pages. Part 4 – Dr. Thierry Vrain interviewed by BC Food Security activist Tony Mitra (www.tonu.org) Parts 1 to 3 of this video series cover a colourful general tour of the thriving herbal sanctuary of Innisfree farm in Courtenay, BC. In Part 4, Dr. Vrain discusses the  faulty assumptions of the biotech industry about how genes work, and how dangerous the consequences of that faulty science are proving to be.In the Part 5 video, Dr. Thierry Vrain further elaborates on the bad science behind the GMO technology on one side, and the absence of third party independent testing of the GMO products to assess health risks on the other. Dr. Vrain on his farm (middle) with Tony Mitra (right) and Peggy (left). From Tony Mitra’s blog. B: Open Letter One by Dr.Thierry Vrain “I retired 10 years ago after a long career as a research scientist for Agriculture Canada. When I was on the payroll, I was the designated scientist of my institute to address public groups and reassure them that genetically engineered crops and foods were safe. There is, however, a growing body of scientific research – done mostly in Europe, Russia, and other countries – showing that diets containing engineered corn or soya cause serious health problems in laboratory mice and rats. I don’t know if I was passionate about it but I was knowledgeable. I defended the side of technological advance, of science and progress. I have in

Award-winning Black River Cheese is just one of three dozen Canadian producers represented at the biggest cheese show in Canada. This year including Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. It’s not too late to purchase tickets online for the third annual Great Canadian Cheese Festival! Save money and skip the line at the entrance by placing your order here today: http://cheesefestival.ca/tickets/ Here’s the long list of exhibitors who’ll be ready tickle your palate on June 1-2–in only nine days! It certainly is a long list, thus, you might consider buying a two-day pass. CHEESE: Plaisirs Gourmets Fromagerie du Pied-de-Vent Fromagerie du Presbytère Fromagerie Île-aux-Grues Fromagerie La Station Fromagerie Médard Fromagerie Nouvelle France Le Fromage au Village Les Fromagiers de la Table Ronde Best Baa Dairy Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese ARS Foods Black River Cheese Millbank Cheese Mariposa Dairy Maple Dale Cheese Five Brothers Artisan Cheese Ontario Water Buffalo Company Monforte Dairy Woolwich Dairy Empire Cheese Upper Canada Cheese Primeridge Pure Quality Cheese Glen Echo Fine Foods Cows Creamery Crossroad Farms Jensen Cheese Natural Pastures Salt Spring Island Cheese Back Forty Artisan Cheese Farm House Natural Cheese Mountainoak Cheese Glengarry Fine Cheese County Cheese Company Knoydart Farm Cheesemaker Showcase Making Cheese At Home UrbanSteading DIY Cheese ARTISAN FOODS: Agrarian Cheese Market and Speakeasy East & Main Bistro/Pomodoro Sarafino From These Roots Prince Edward County Lavender Manning Canning Mysty’s Distributing Perth Pepper and Pestle Evelyn’s Crackers Cook’s Gourmet Hot Mamas Foods Yummy Cookies La Natura Fine Foods Nossa Cucina Henderson Farms Premier Fine Foods Seed to Sausage Queen of the Kitchen Artisan Chocolate Truffles Artisan Edibles Angelo Bean Prince Edward County Fare Country Girl Cooks Haliburton Forest Just Wing It The Salty Don Really Horrible Enterprises Hood Wood Aunt Lulu’s Country Kitchen Epicure Selections Snell House Foods Crazy Corn Major Craig’s Chutney Olivia Chocolatiers Pina Verde Dessert Factory Heavenly Honey Foodie Pages Mrs. McGarrigle’s Fine Food Shop FINE WINE: Redtail Vineyard Lacey Estates Vineyard & Winery Huff Estates Winery Waupoos Winery Sandbanks Estate Winery Casa-Dea Estates Winery The Grange of Prince Edward Vineyards and Estate Winery Exultet Estates Norman Hardie Winery and Vineyard Keint-he Winery and Vineyards Stanners Vineyard Harwood Estates Vineyard & Winery Closson Chase Vineyard Rosehall Run Vineyards Palatine Hills Estate Winery Black Prince Winery Lighthall Vineyards Lang Vineyards Long Dog Vineyards & Winery Savvy Sip & Shop CRAFT BEER: Mill Street Brewery Creemore Springs Brewery Granville Island Beau’s All Natural Brewing Church-Key Brewing CIDER: County Cider FOOD COURT: Flatbread Pizza Cheesewerks OTHER: From Farm to Table Experience Ontario Agri-Food Education 4H Prince Edward County Ontario Water Buffalo (Yvette) Milky Way Farms (lambs) 4H Livestock or John Nyman Prince Edward County Museums Slow Food Prince Edward County Ontario Wine Society Farmtown Park Taste the County Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory More than 125 different cheeses and so much more to sample and purchase! PLUS: Cheese Tours, Cooking with Cheese, Tutored Tastings, Wine & Dine & Cheese,  and Cheese + Beer = Cheers! For all the info, visit: http://cheesefestival.ca/ Bypass the line at the entrance and save money by placing your order today: http://cheesefestival.ca/tickets/ Admission for one adult to the Artisan Cheese & Fine Food Fair on Saturday or Sunday, June 1 or 2, where cheesemakers and producers of artisan foods will offer their products for sampling and purchase. Fine wines, craft beer and crisp cider will also be available for tasting and ordering for home delivery within a week. Seminars in All You need Is Cheese annex. Special presentations every hour. Dairy farm open all day. Admission includes 10 tasting tickets, glass for s

Being from the Midwest, I didn’t know anything about Cuban sandwiches until I moved to California. You read that correctly. It took a move 1,600 miles in the wrong direction for me to finally experience the warm, toasty delights of the Mixto — roasted pork, sliced ham, swiss cheese, pickles and yellow mustard on fresh Cuban bread pressed with a plancha (iron) and cut diagonally across the center. ¡Delicioso! So far be it from me to shy away from sampling the newest addition to the Hot Pockets line-up, the Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pocket. Much like the East Coast/West Coast hip hop feud of yore, there’s a rivalry between Tampa and Miami regarding ownership of the Cuban sandwich. Tampa appears to be the original home of the Mixto (a.k.a the Cubano), which was introduced there in the 1890s by hungry Cuban cigar factory workers in the Ybor City neighborhood. They did, however, add salami to the sandwich — a highly controversial move, especially considering how Miami’s sandwich artists have adhered to the traditional recipe. I suppose this would be the “Who Shot Ya?” event of the sandwich war because things really popped off after that. Suffice it to say, the salami-free Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pockets seem to welcome me to the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach ‘til the break of dawn. Bienvenido a Miami… These Hot Pockets are demanding that I get Pitbull on the phone and tell him to meet us in the V.I.P. at LIV for some bottle service after the Heat game and then afterwards, crank up the salsa as we speed to the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in our yellow Lambo for the after party. But before I book that plane ticket, let’s pause for a moment and talk about Cuban bread. It’s delicious and airy with that necessary touch of fat that makes Cuban bread Cuban and almost all other bread crap. I can’t be sure that the Hot Pockets people have injected lard into their crust, but the Cuban Style Hot Pocket is soft and delicious. True, the crust isn’t crispy since these Hot Pockets are heated in the microwave and don’t come with a crisping sleeve, but it isn’t soggy either. It manages to maintain a perfectly bread-like exterior with the right amount of give and softness without becoming a mushy mess. When it comes to the innards of the Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pockets, they closely approximate the makeup of authentic Cuban sandwiches. They are full of pickle flavor, but I’m at a loss trying to explain where the intense pickle-y taste actually comes from. How did they manage to get so much flavor out of these itsy bitsy chunks of pickle? The meat portion of this Hot Pocket consists of diced ham and sliced pork — two delicious meats that come from the same magically delicious animal. There is a hint of mustard in the Hot Pocket, but it definitely takes a backseat to the pickle flavor. The Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pocket is a winner with a pleasantly soft crust, savory pork bits, gooey Swiss cheese, tangy pickles, and no salami. Though it lacks the crispy, toasted texture one can only get from using a sandwich press instead of a microwave, I am positive that anyone looking for some Cubano goodness won’t be disappointed. Just don’t tell Tampa. (Nutrition Facts – 1 sandwich – 260 calories, 90 fat calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 680 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 10 grams of protein, 15% Calcium, 10%Iron, 0% Vitamin C, 2% Vitamin A.) Item: Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pockets Purchased Price: $2.00 (on sale) Size: 2 sandwiches Purchased at: Ralphs Rating: 8 out of 10 Pros: Pickles, pork & cheese. Thick, soft bread. Lard injections. Pitbull. Cons: Teensy mystery pickles. Sandwich feuds. Definitely not plancha crispy. Only around for a short time. Related posts: REVIEW: Hot Pockets Limited Edition Spicy Hawaiian Style Pizz

These crisps, made mostly from potato flour but with also many other grains, looked sort of remotely like narrow-rippled potato chips, except with very weird, irregular shapes and some wiggle on the surfaces. ...