green and carefree

oh (what a) happy day (it would be)

2011-06-08T11:50:00.008-05:00

zut alors, people!

this is not usually a space I use for promoting contests, but this give-away is so phenomenal I had to share. oh happy day and hôtel mama shelter are partnering to send a reader (plus-one) to paris (the *good* one—not paris, texas) for one week, housing them in the uber-chic boutique hotel (voted among the top 50 worldwide), and personally showing them around the city of light!

... would it be graceless to add another ten exclamation points to that statement? the astonishingly generous jordan is footing the bill for airfare from her own argent de poche, so, I'd say that warrants at least ten.

go now! check it out!

(coincidentally, b and I hope to visit paris this fall to celebrate our recent marriage, meanwhile devouring anything in print on the topic of food, history, culture, oh...and food.)

~

this easter bunny speaks gluten-free

2011-04-21T17:11:00.006-05:00

two of my very favorite small humans are unable to eat the protein in grain (which gives bread its elastic nature). neither are they able to eat the protein in milk (which concentrates in aged cheeses). nor soy (well, that's pro'lly just a plain old allergy developed from recipe substitutions).

so what's a poor girl to do, around holidays when it's customary to send one's favorite small people boxes overflowing with with cookies and cakes and chocolaty chocolaty bunnies???

improvise, that's what.

and with limited time left over after last weekend's wedding (woot!), that means a very quick "cooking" project before popping a box in the mail to the mini-people.

step one: shortcuts
locate the kosher for passover aisle conveniently prominent this season, at your neighborhood (maybe) grocer. buy as many bags of pareve (kosher-neutral) chocolate chips as you can manage with your pocket money. you'll know the right ones by the k inside a circle, but without the little d next to it. that d stands for dairy, which, as we've said, is a no-go. while dairy is not usually a dirty word, in kosher tradition it may not be mixed with meat in the same meal, so these chips are right for making passover desserts. soy is explicitly banned from use during pesach, so this kind of chip will never contain soy emulsifiers. also, they will have been produced on dedicated equipment that will never have processed dairy or soy products. rabbis don't mess around with this stuff.

step two: melt
dump chocolate chips into a microwave-safe glass bowl, add one tablespoon vegetable oil and stir chips to coat. realize that oil was 100 percent soybean oil. curse. dump coated chips unceremoniously into the trash. (aren't you glad you bought lots now?)

step three: repeat
in a clean, dry bowl - without oil, this time; it was optional anyway. heat chips in micro for 1.5 minutes at half-power, then remove from microwave and stir until bowl is cool. repeat at 30 second intervals until chocolate is completely melted. stir in large handfuls of shredded, unsweetened dried coconut, until there's enough for coconut to be coated in chocolate, but hold the texture of a haystack.

step four:
spoon a scant tablespoon of chocolate-coconut mix onto parchment, and make a small well in the center of the nest to hold a few jelly belly (the brand is gluten-free casein-free) "eggs." (so what if they look a little like turds? throw a few little candies on there, they taste just fine.)

step five:
profit.

{cute gfcf-ness!}

bonus round:
track down mom's favorite brand of gluten-free dairy-free rice crispy treat, and cut bars in half. shape blocks into egg-like ovals. dunk in chocolate (or not). roll in decorative sugar nonpareils.

{a little quality control - shhh. don't tell the kids.}

valentines: belated

2011-02-14T09:56:00.001-06:00

today a valentine of sorts will make its way to 100 of b's & my loved ones. we sat, shoulders hunched, assembly line style, for a good portion of the weekend (my vision may have been stupidly ambitious, with the wrist cramp to prove it), but they're (mostly) done! so off they go, to wish you a happy st. valentine's day.

... now get busy rsvp'ing.

~

150 days ...

2010-11-17T20:03:00.001-06:00

... and counting. before d-day, err, w-day (heh.).

I haven't been very good about posting lately. we've been quite good about eating at home, but we've been cooking a lot of old favorites and standbys. we've also been working a lot of late hours. I love election season, but dang y'all. it's tiring.

the good news is we've got most of the important event stuff nailed down: caterer. venue. hotel. a super awesome (non-traditional) dessert. the beginnings of a registry. an inkling of the dress is beginning to materialize, and will hopefully be more real after a much-needed visit home. one by one we're checking off the details. which feels good. really good. and the best part is, it looks we might manage to pull it all together on-budget.

... which means I'm also spending a little time haunting thrift stores and polishing ebay silver (buying a lot saved us 47 cents *per utensil* ... sounds totally loco, but it adds up).

and it's good for me in a zen, water-carrying, wax-on-wax-off sort of sense.

psst ... incidentally, did you know plain old white toothpaste is a pretty terrific silver polish?

I'll try to get back to posting recipes soon.

~

happy halloween, y'all

2010-10-31T22:42:00.001-05:00

stop by for some candy — we have plenty left over (foot traffic in our neighborhood varies wildly from year to year). tomorrow night we'll toast pumpkin seeds, and fall will have officially begun.

but seriously. feel free to drop by for candy.

... or send your address, and I'll box up some banana laffytaffy for you.

the waiting is the hardest part

2010-10-15T08:21:00.002-05:00

many event arrangements, work and wedding-related, have been set in motion and released from my control. preferred bbq guy contacted for an estimate. savethedate design ordered and paper purchased. vintage dress pattern(s) researched and bought.

at least on the personal front it's mostly ephemera at this point. we have much of the hard details — at least the date and venue — figured out. but among other things, a vintage dress pattern is held up somewhere in canadian customs, and I can't help but feel like 9/11 shouldn't have changed everything. minor event-related anxiety, sure, but it would be one more thing checked off the list, with only six months left to the d-i-y style affair.

for now, all I can do is twiddle my thumbs and notice my first gray hair (seriously people. shoulder-length. how did it escape view *that* long?).

and dodge enormous black walnuts falling in the backyard.

... speaking of enormous, we've recently discovered gargantuan ladybugs invading the garden. maybe they're eating the mutant walnuts.

second cousin to mothra

weekend piccys - indy

2010-10-12T19:00:00.001-05:00

these pics are so, so late. but so was my belated visit to one of my oldest friends, now settled in indy. a few years ago, one of the first trips b & I took together was up to see her marry a man whose young niece and nephew named him "uncle fun." there's really no better way to put it — he's just a wonderful, genuine person and a fun guy to be around. he's a perfect match for one of the kindest, funniest friends I've ever known.

the two of them have since started down the road to building a family, with their first little girl. and so, belatedly (still before her first birthday!) I headed north for a long weekend, to see the adorable little creature for myself.

a new airport made the hardest part quite a bit easier.

as did the warm kitty who made himself right at home on my lap on a rainy fall day.

colors were just beginning to turn

but other evidence of the season was everywhere ~ broad ripple farmers market

though the sense was summer wasn't going without a fight.

when the weather flipped back to "gorgeous" mode, we did get out and about

the dolphin tank at the indy zoo brings people right into their realm (quiet between shows) ~ at one point, casey's mom looked back at the two of walking silently together and wondered aloud what trouble we were into (we evidently had the same mischievous look about us as we routinely had in high school).

but that was not half as amazing as the time spent with little anya ~ "no mushrooms, please"

yep. change is good.

especially when experienced with someone new (yes, I may have managed to teach her a little longhorn spirit in a few short days. heh.).

weekend piccys — back in the saddle

2010-10-03T11:14:00.001-05:00

well, alrighty! so it seems blogger may be accepting photos again, in which case I'm back to work. I mean ... "work." ::wink:: not that keeping up with blogging is the hardest thing on the planet, it's just that sometimes living life is as important as documenting it, and that's the spot I've been occupying.

I've ... err ... we've also been planning a non-wedding wedding! which has meant a ton of running around, searching (and searching and searching) for the right venue. this one was not it.

neither was this venue — it would have been much too large. for a wedding, that is.

it was just perfect for the pixies show we caught (which, incidentally, was awesome). for an old gang of punks, they still brought it, and on a schoolnight no less.

a housewarming package finally made it into the mail.

and, though our favored team sucked the proverbial big one, tacodeli brightened the day.

as did some girltime with a few of my sassiest friends (especially little lulu), on a gorgeous afternoon.

a few almond joy cookies later, it was a fine weekend.

I don't really know what this fine specimen is, but he hung out on our porch all weekend.

he must have come in on the first fall coldfront — which means it's about time for collecting pecans.

— which also means I need to get as much wear as possible out of my favorite sandals before it's too late. ::grin::

~

some days

2010-09-28T15:47:00.005-05:00

are just crazier than others. what are the odds on the day we're sequestered — misinformation flying around facebook, twitter, cnn — that a random font site, populating its fonts with random headlines, would pull copy from so close to home?

and I don't mean the bears/packers story.

my heart goes out to the family and friends of the student who so needed attention that he walked (grinning) onto campus with a kalashnikov and a ski mask. he clearly did not intend to take anyone with him, or he would have used any of the many opportunities he had. he did, however, feel the need to plunge fifty-five thousand people into the chaos he embraced.

hug your families tonight, please.

~

what I did with my summer vacation

2010-09-05T20:03:00.006-05:00

it's been too long since I've checked in here, but from the first day of june to the last day of august, this summer was one fantastic blur of events. that, and I've been hating my publishing platform quite a bit (mucho frustration). it would take far too long to go week by week (and would be entirely outside of my character to expend the energy), so here's the abridged version, in photos:

b & I enjoyed a sisterly visit, from someone we see far too little of (she studies at a small academy situated — like a monastery — atop a mountain).

then one sister traded places with another (who is more accustomed to the crazy heat), and the fun continued on for another few weeks.

but let me tell you folks, it was hot.

... so we continued on in a more nocturnal fashion

chewing our way across town by the light of the moontower

not *exactly* following in anthony bourdain's footsteps — after all, they were our favorite spots first!

(who wouldn't love a place like this?)

... or this? (salted caramel and blackberry macarons, courtesy of la boîte cafe)

... or this? (phenomenal birthday/celebratory* dinner at uchiko)

don't worry though, we found some educational activities, too. we visited austin's city limits for a little birdwatching.

... and ate some healthy stuff, too.

(because god probably doesn't want enchiladas all the time)

full disclosure: we did have our fair share of the city's best snowcones (post-swim snowcones pictured above came in raspberry + cream and wedding cake* flavors).

oh – and I almost forgot! I have a new vantage point at work, from my new digs ...

... complete with some new (to me) classics to spend my days amongst (if not for the giant sign reminding that 'university surplus is not for personal use,' my whole house would probably be outfitted in eames era "upcycle-chic").

then we had another distinguished house guest, best friend to that dog (we suspect there may have been a little romance in the air). but alas, she's gone to cooler climes, and that dog pined for days. which is something like months and months and months in dog years (we all moped for days after that sweet pup's parents relocated to kansas).

and speaking of honored guests — I shared an unforgettable afternoon with office mates, over words by the most distinguished speaker that comes to mind (rhymes with resident snow-mama).

I took a quick trip home (for celebrating multiple* fun things)

which meant a little long-awaited summer reading time and some truly exceptional meals with fambly (especially the chocolate cake for breakfast part).

also on the summer agenda: an attempt at the art of toaster oven cookery. for approximately 2.5 months here, it's just too damned hot to cook. we ate out far too often, and I'm sincerely thankful for a break in the heat that should jump-start fall menu planning. and hopefully give us a few more tomatoes, too.

overall, the summer was a brilliant success.

I spent nearly no time at all on number 49-across.

indeed, the summer was truly wonderful, and I can't imagine how it could have been any better.

* (okay — so have you guessed yet? in just 7 short months (ack!) b & I will be getting hitched!)

(more details to follow)

ride, sally, ride

2010-07-18T18:25:00.001-05:00

meet sally. she's candy apple red and does zero to sixty off the line in nothing flat.

sally and I are going to be very good friends.

(thanks mom!)

~

the eight-legged oracle

2010-07-12T12:23:00.001-05:00

paul can suck it.

{via we are never full}

we'll be making this for dinner sometime this week.

stupid holland-hating octopus.

pie in the sky

2010-07-02T19:21:00.006-05:00

we’ve been baking again. on sort of a roll, actually, thanks mostly to alex, who’s responsible for dropping this week’s temps by twenty degrees. ... it’s humid enough to steam the winkles from a linen suit, and my hair is like "whoa!," but I’ll take it! because it's july second, and 78 degrees in austin, texas!

last week it seemed the kitchen would be closing for summer, until the average temp could drop below 95. it appeared that unless divine intervention stepped in, there would be no jam made this year, even as the fig tree bows low under its burden and farmers’ tables are heaped with gorgeous peaches. as of last week, there was no way in hell I would willingly stand over a spattering cauldron of 212 degree fruit pulp (I'm crazy, but not crazy).

it’s not the random 100 degree day that stills all interest in cooking, but rather the interminable nature of summers here. you see, unlike the desert, there is no relief in the night. coastal breezes do not sweep through — like in the california central valley — nor fog. in fact, there is a point at twilight, when the breeze halts entirely, allowing mosquitoes to emerge (searching for my ankles). nighttime slumps into a sultrier version of the summer heat — because at least in daylight, there is the relative relief of shade to take off the edge. perspiration dissipates. in central texas evenings, the only semblance of relief is cool condensation from a drink, held to your forehead. icy watermelon. night swimming. air. conditioning.

even texas tomatoes succumb to doldrums and stop producing around mid-summer, until night temps fall a little in september.

I’ve been researching the purchase of a larger toaster oven, thinking if I can find something capable of consistent baking temps at half-size, we might be able to avoid some of the takeout urge. there’s not much on the market between the $65-ish and the $300 price points (the cook's illustrated pick from 2007 bears numerous amazon reviews noting explosions. um hrmmm.). is a $300 convection toaster oven totally insane — is making toast in it akin to lighting birthday candles with a blowtorch? is sacrificing that much counter space a fair trade for a handy gadget that prolongs baking season? should I just get over myself and get cooking in my bikini? I can’t decide.

anyhow, back to baking! this week our kitchen produced two (two!) main course cheese-and-vegetable tarts. the first may become a summer standby, certainly as long as we continue seeing such gorgeous tomatoes. the second one (for which there is no photographic proof — but there are witnesses!), came from deb, and was far more involved/labor intensive. delicious though it was, it may go into the stack of weekend-type recipes … mayhaps with a flag denoting deceptively rich recipes. a light salad is all the accompaniment deb’s squash galette needs. the tomato tart, though: perfectly balanced, flavorful, and the tender crust is the quickest ever, with no resting time. if you can stand to turn your oven on, get thee to the market for some chevre and make this one tonight!

david lebovitz' summer tomato and goat cheese tart
found here

tart filling
dijon or whole-grain mustard
2-3 large ripe tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil salt and freshly ground pepper
two generous tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, chives, chervil, or tarragon
8 ounces (250 g) fresh or slightly aged goat cheese, sliced into rounds
1 1/2 tbsp flavorful honey

tart dough
1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour
4 1/2 ounces (125 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, and chilled again1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg2-3 tbsp ice water

for dough:
mix flour and salt in a bowl. add the butter and with hands or a pastry blender, break in the butter until the mixture has a crumbly, cornmeal-like texture. mix egg with 2 tablespoons of ice water. make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the beaten egg mixture, stirring the mixture until the dough holds together. if it doesn't come together easily, add an additional tablespoon of ice water. turn dough onto parchment-lined counter, and collect into a ball, then roll the dough, adding additional flour only as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. transfer dough to a prepared baking sheet preheat the oven to 425ºf (218ºc).

to fill:
spread an even layer of mustard over the bottom of the tart dough and let it sit a few minutes to dry. slice tomatoes into half-inch, horizontal planes and arrange them over the mustard in a single, even layer. drizzle olive oil over the top. sprinkle with some chopped fresh herbs and freshly ground black pepper, then arrange the slices of goat cheese on top. add some more fresh herbs and drizzle with honey. gather dough edges to envelope the filling, overlapping where necessary. bake the tart for 30-ish minutes, until the dough is cooked through, the tomatoes are tender, and the cheese on top is nicely browned.

weekend piccys

2010-06-28T22:17:00.001-05:00

the summer has been swiftly heating up since our return from europe, and I've been remiss in posting. with a family visit from home, it's surprising how little time is left for personal maintenance while playing full-time ambassador and tour-guide! anyhow, it's been tremendous fun and completely exhausting.

{an indulgent trip to the salon, with its seasonal decor}

{and a trip to the farmers market ~ long lines for peaches indicate summer is in full swing}

{summer movie festival favorite ~ b@t is even funnier watched with a full house}

{a few trips to redbud isle ...}

{... and sno beach, to cool off}

{not to mention the springs — year-round 68 degree water will drop a person's core-temp in seconds flat}

{texas summers require survival incentives ~ fresh strawberry gelato}

{... or maybe just a blanket and a bikini, cleverly stashed in your car}

{... and a good neighborhood hangout}

~

christmas in june

2010-06-28T19:00:00.001-05:00

they'reherethey'reherethey'rehere!

looks like I'd better get the jam pot out and my act together.

~

good fences make good neighbors

2010-06-25T18:52:00.005-05:00

it's an old phrase, but this lends a whole new, wonderful meaning. gosh, I just love those dutch people and their design aesthetic!

{photo: droog design, nederlands}

yep. that's an actual fence, made out of actual wire.

::sigh::

~

bloomsday

2010-06-16T13:37:00.003-05:00

a very happy bloomsday to every joyce fan among us.

I wonder how hard it will be (since the kitchen may be officially closed for summer), convincing b that gorgonzola sandwiches and burgundy (or a beer) are in order for dinner tonight?

~

dam good vacation

2010-06-05T17:32:00.033-05:00

we and our well-calcified bones (we had "old cheese," "young cheese," one of three kinds of goat cheese, or a combination of all at nearly every meal) have returned from two weeks in holland and belgium.

we made the trip to attend the wedding of two wonderful friends, becoming an officially-hyphenated power couple. the bride's mom works in the hague, so amsterdam seemed a fun spot for a destination event, attended by about two dozen family members and friends. I've always subscribed to a sort of six-degrees-of-kevin-bacon theory on friends (the traits which draw two friends together will translate to a connection between their friends as well), but the trip may have elevated the hypothesis to at least theorem status. the assorted members of elisewho? and matty's tribes combined seamlessly, into a roving band of comrades. we felt really lucky to be included, and had a blast with everyone. though it felt a teensy bit surreal seeing so many of the people we associate with austin in such a different environ.

the food was surprisingly fantastic … you know … if unpretentious but perfectly made bread and cheese, chocolate, pastries etc. … (oh, and fried potatoes) are your thing. those western europeans sure know their way around a stick of butter! we could have comfortably survived the trip just eating their cheeses — so it’s a good thing we walked everywhere. in amsterdam, we also enjoyed cantonese food twice (the only place I’ve had jellyfish, since traveling to hong kong as a kid), plus indonesian/surinamese food. while in belgium, aside from one really fun standing seafood-bar meal, our diet orbited around the availability of chocolate and/or beer and/or waffles.

the wedding photographer wasted no time posting a few pics (and slide show) to his blog. the slide show at the bottom is worth watching — it made me all teary watching the weekend highlights. while the bunch was a photogenic group overall (myself excluded), channing johnson was a phenomenal wedding photographer, and I would recommend him to anyone (especially in the boston area).

travel lessons learned:

those exercises listed on the in-flight-safety brochure: they're for real. if done as prescribed, they might actually prevent the kind of swelling (known as *the fat-foot) and joint-pain 21 hours traveling can cause. oh, and skymall is far superior to the duty free catalog.

{huh?}

the west village of new amsterdam makes sooo much more sense after treading dam's tilted alleys and meandering canal streets. without the canal system, amsterdam would be just as jumbled and confusing.
not all mayonnaise is totally despicable (whaaa?). well, at least not the kind served with perfectly cooked frites in the netherlands and belgium. it's creamier, fresher, and a teensy bit sweet ... but not at all like that crazy miracle whip stuff ... hard to describe, but delicious.

{everything in brussels has two (bilingual) names ~ mer du nord/noordzee restaurant}

the local specialty is always worth ordering — even if it's not normally on your diet. oh, and dessert should come before dinner. always.
travel with a toddler can be really, really fun. (really!)

... (yes, really!!!)

{luts & bruno setola's house in brugge}

if there is not a toddler available for booking, b&b's are the way to go. every one of the three places we stayed was lovely in its own way, and the hosts felt like just that. staying with them felt very little like a hotel experience, and a lot like visiting generous (distant) relatives. every morning coffee was already hot, fresh toast and croissants warmed, and the company, inviting us to take a seat at their kitchen table. we visited with our hosts and the other guests over breakfast, discussing the sights or getting an inside track on the best pubs and chocolate shops to visit.

{correct netting technique ~ bugs outside}

there are, in fact, people who need instructions on proper mosquito netting technique. the funny couple we met (ironically, floridians) during the breakfast portion of our first b&b stay could have used a tip or two. stewart, up reading with the jet-lags, neatly arranged himself head-inside-netting ... along with sixteen hungry mosquitoes. millie slept very well indeed.

{knopenwinkel ~ vintage button shop, where somehow I blew 50 euro!}

I seem to be more of an amsterdam-vintage kinda gal than a brussels-urban-vintage sorta chick. the shops we visited in the northwest-central dam neighborhoods carried beautiful mid century garments, linens and lace. my only shopping-related regret involves a beautiful old quilt and some kitchen linens that would have required jettisoning serious clothing ballast.

the dutch language sounds funny. flemish sounds hilarious.

— for dutch, place a "sh" sound over every s and an emphatic, germanic "ch" over every g.
— for flemish, start with a french meter, and in place of every "r," gargle with listerine.

and lastly, but most importantly (as if I didn't know it before) — b plans one hell of a trip. he is the most considerate of travel companions, always researching the best eats, coffee spots ... err ... I mean, cafés (though he drinks none), and vintage shops (though he waits patiently outside) ... but in short, it was a fantastic trip, made so by the wonderful b. I am fortunate to have shared a new experience with him, and to share a life with him.

{glad to be home}

we had a wonderful time together, and we’re glad to be home. we missed our funny mutt.
and ran out of clean underpants.

{mutt-thos glad to have us home}

and now the laundry's all done, and more than a week later, photos are finally downloaded. the trip is officially over ::sigh:: and b has already begun thinking about the next big trip (!) ... so, I guess I'd better get cracking on posting some photos — hopefully a few will be up tomorrow!!

* the official, medical term for the affliction.

here we go

2010-05-23T12:45:00.002-05:00

there is much I wish could have been accomplished before this moment, but ... well ... it's just too damn bad.

we're off to europe for *two* weeks! (ack!) I'll try to update a little where there's wi-fi access, but most likely the majority (and the better pics) will be posted in june.

~

big pimpin (spending cheese)

2010-05-17T18:56:00.007-05:00

um. wow.

yes, austin possesses a bustling dining scene, a young, extroverted population (students, as a rule, don't cook), two spectacular grocery chains battling for customer loyalty, and supports a respectable organic/local/slow foods movement ... but damn! it's somewhat surprising to read that 5 detrioters could eat on the *average* austinite's budget. that is to say, as an austinite who attempts to buy/grow/eat fresh, nutritious food-with-a-capital-f, but who by no means eats caviar, well, *ever* ... I am shocked.

{via flowingdata.com}

other than that, all's I really know is, whoever is responsible for this graphic must be local, if he/she knows torchy's.

~

what the what!

2010-05-17T08:40:00.003-05:00

again!?

it seems I've got a case of déjà vu. and just when the euro dropped below $1.25! damn.

then again, g-ma managed to have arranged her euro break on (what ended up being) one of the first flights allowed in the air last month, so I've got hope we'll find the same.

... but maybe just for insurance, cross fingers for us? (thanks.) I rarely read horoscopes, but the paper was there this morning, so I looked.

in the meantime I'll just be here enjoying the sunny morning and another piece of toast (seeduction loaf with brown butter and the remainder of last year's strawberry-hibiscus jam).

~

soon and very soon

2010-05-15T22:22:00.001-05:00

this evening, while checking in on the garden, a few of the tomatoes peering back at me bore a definite blush.

cheeky.

~

what's the story morning glory

2010-05-13T22:28:00.002-05:00

time's slipped through my fingers again ::sigh:: so this one may be a lengthy update (perhaps with overdue pics, tomorrow, but eyes are steadily drooping now). perhaps I'll just bullet point it again, temporarily.

so, what have I been up to? ... what *have* I been up to???

counting down the days (10!)
keeping my beady little eyes trained on the euro (thank goodness for southern europe!)
keeping my beady little eyes trained on the nederlanders' weather, and rethinking my "brilliant" pre-packing plan
planning a perty for a bestie
planning a quick trip to galveston
searching for a good paperback to take along on the trip (suggestions? perhaps this one? or this?)
and considering money-belt alternatives (and a supersneaky/semi-ridiculous solution)
discovering three straight nights dreaming of work do not actually add up to comp time (boo.)
watching this year's tomatoes become huge
not missing shampoo much – discovering baking soda works just as well (better, even ~ is it possible I'm allergic to shampoo?), though it doesn't leave a breeze of green apples and rosebuds in my wake
looking forward to summer visitors
enjoying the last few days of spring, dining al fresco with friends
counting the first fireflies of the season
missing singing quite a bit, but remembering what it's like to visit the gym regularly
the best four years (thus far) marked off the calendar, with my boo.

mum's the word

2010-05-09T12:31:00.005-05:00

it's totally ridiculous that only once or twice per year, on randomly selected, officially sanctioned days, people say nice things to and about their mothers.

... and yet, that's what I'm about to do here today.

{fattest baby ever}

{lesson number one: expression of phenotype is a wacky thing ~ some of us look little like her ... some look nearly identical}

{... which is a good thing, of course}

I am among the luckiest generation of females ever born, in one of the safest, wealthiest nations, following the advent of antibiotics and tampons and color tv (and even — effective birth control). I was born blessed. but even in light of all the blessings of me generation (like the right to vote, air conditioning, and piles of paperback novels) stacking the deck in my favor, my mother has made life a wonderful journey.

lessons learned from her (including, but not limited to):

consider a good argument before saying "no"
sing along with the good songs on the radio
don't judge a garment by the hanger ~ try it on
... and examine the seams
pay attention to the evening news
don't fear appealing to an expert
willingly share your own expertise when asked
basements are good places for roller skating
if you like something but it's not in the budget, sew it/paint it/make it yourself
happiness is a choice to be made, sometimes daily
going to the beach is a legitimate reason for missing a day of school (if your homework is done, of course)
know thyself, but appreciate the differences between people
always fight the good fight
know the difference between the good fight and tilting at windmills
tea and good books make great gifts
pack good lunches ~ even if you don't eat the fun stuff yourself, it's good for social capital
travel makes us better persons (the further from home, the better)
horses make us better persons, too (the more horses, the better)
take in hurt or stray animals (not limited to mammals), which make the most memorable pets (e.g., newtzilla & atticus)
open your home fully to guests
and open your arms fully to friends and family
... even the crazy ones (they can't be changed, but they can be loved anyway)

I genuinely respect and love my mom, and strive each day to live up to her example. it's not likely speaking out of turn to say I hope she's as proud of her children today as we are of her.

{gratuitous virtual flowers}

holy mosquito wings, batman!

2010-05-06T12:26:00.000-05:00

whoa. what an amazing look at innovative photography techniques and a facet of the natural world we very rarely get to see. not only has charles krebs mastered lighting his "challenging" models, but he's developed post-process techniques to overcome limitations to the laws of optics.

{video: king 5 - seattle ~ via strobist}

~

au coin de ma rue

2010-05-04T12:35:00.003-05:00

while loitering on the interwebs over the weekend (search criteria: dam, fashion, vintage), I happened upon this wonderful blog. the anonymous journal is kept for preserving inspiration the author finds in people – some local, some not– who seem to have perfected personal style.

she says of the people she approaches, quite literally on her street corner, "they all have an ‘intangible something’ that reflects into their expression. it’s like their body and face embrace entirely their personality."

{bénédicte (belgium) ~ via au coin de ma rue}

frankly, my dear ...

2010-04-30T20:07:00.010-05:00

now that invitations have gone out, and most people have them in their mailboxes (confirmation has already come from washington d.c.) ... I can post a pic or two.

elisewho's europeanvacationwedding inches nearer by the second, and I've been recruited to help her "maid" of honor throw a girlyparty. but, um ... not the kind of "girlyparty" a guy might normally organize. it will be no shirtless-adrian-zmed/quaalude-scarfing-mule kind of affair. so what kind of themes might a dude contribute to a bridal shower? little pink flowers? nope. hearts and stars and rainbows and unicorns? not really. ... hotdogs? **yep.

to save a few pennies for putting toward euros, I purchased plain stock and printed/cut everything in-house, using a wonderful complimentary design and fonts by haley dolan of bread of many (hooray for the interwebs!). since two of e's three bridesmaids will be unable to fly in — two short weeks prior to the great 'dam pilgrimage — they got a little extra something in their envelopes, made of japanese masking tape and floss. ... and a little confetti.

... oh, and pop rocks. because it's just not a party without pop rocks.

**to be fair, it should probably be mentioned that the bride was given several options, and she selected bacon-wrapped door number three.

~

bookin' it to amsterdam

2010-04-29T19:11:00.003-05:00

it's not often that I actually wear jcrew — their sleek styles aren't really cut for the girls with badonkadonk — but I still occasionally peruse their catalogs.

a stylist's s crapbook on their website has me daydreaming of what I might do with the supersecret souvenir favor we'll be receiving at elisewho & matty's wedding.

I love their classy take on grannie-chic, and the relaxed, beach-ie feel of their summer lines (even if their mannequins will never be shaped like me).

~

a purl of an idea

2010-04-28T11:23:00.013-05:00

... and in their purses were candy bars. how happy were they?

it ranks among the top ten birthday cards ever, and came from b, a year (or two?) ago.

it seems next to that chocolate bar in my little purse, I've always kept a little beaded coin-purse's worth of skepticism ... and mayhaps a tiny, shimmery organza pouch of f-you. not, you know, in an evil kind of, destructive sort of way — more like in an inside-joke, social/poetic-justice, stick-it-to-the-man, mischievous kind of way.

this might be why I've always had an appreciation for urban art. you know, not in an angry, vandalistic kind of way — more in a paper decal, guerrilla gardening, bumper-sticker-on-street-sign type way. I totally respect the broken window theory — it did wonders for a safer, cleaner new york. it's also totally understandable that people fear criticism. I merely believe a healthy society has a good appreciation of irony. and it's juvenile, I know, but life is just funner with a light sprinkling of f-you.

in that light, I lurv the city's summer art city austin series, featuring local folks working in a palate of ephemeral materials. the first piece, by magda sayeg, has already gone up. magda's knitting lends a quirky, fun spirit to a ho-hum piece of preexisting art, which has always seemed to me a work in progress.

she's also reportedly knitting cozies for some of the new parking kiosks near city hall.
allsome (because what everybody needs for a texas summer is an afghan to curl up with).

the second commission will be installed by architecture student daniel morrison, from thousands of pieces of "reclaimed" cardboard boxes.

I've heard rumor there's more on the way, too.
::eep!::

thanks, tolly, for the post!

ohyeah — I almost forgot!

reis trekken

2010-04-27T12:19:00.000-05:00

tickets = purchased.

(woot!)

~

somebody stop me!

2010-04-26T14:34:00.015-05:00

so.

I think I'm going for it.

after reading an earth day post by a favorite blogger, and then following her link to another, I sort of tumbled down the rabbithole of the no-poo movement.

about a year ago, a fellow curly-haired-soprano — the only type with whom I ever really associate (you know who you are ::wink::) — mentioned she'd given up the poo when I complimented her perfect curls. you see, we c.h.s. are a tight-knit sisterhood, requiring much moral support and product recommendation. her hair, while always pretty, was suddenly gorgeous. her golden highlights shone weightlessly and her curls had body without frizz: a miracle in texan septembers. not only that — she claimed to have found the curly-hair holy grail: total product independence. my jaw-dropped incredulity may only register for others in context of my morning regime: one dab of this, with a little smidge of that, a few pumps of this (plus sometimes a teensy bit of this), followed by a spritz or two of this. it's expensive in time and cash, and requires regular consultation of the weather channel, tea leaves and runes.

to be perfectly frank, I've been dabbling for a while, only shampooing every second or third day, and wetting my hair in-between. I've been on a near-constant quest to locate shampoos without sls and other harsh chemicals that contaminate the water supply (they may not be proven carcinogenic, but they're more assertive than necessary, and it just makes me plain nervous slathering petroleum-derived products on my scalp). anyhoo — it may be a regrettable decision after a few humid days, but I maaay just try it out. see how it feels. you know ... until I end up trying to cover the pickle smell with patchouli stink, requiring some sort of crazyhippie intervention.

friends, here's where I need your help — please speak up if I start smelling like that dog.

~

weekend piccys ~ big stuff

2010-04-12T18:11:00.005-05:00

{season for new things ~ cucumber seedlings}

{and new things that contain old things ~ a new home for wonderful friends}

{a wonderful, quirky home with lots of history}

{... and a pond}

{... and some chairs in which to enjoy said pond}

{and ... whatever this is}

{oh! that!}

{a place to be enjoyed with friends, family, and friends with new family}

{soon-to-be-family}

{happily}

{quite happily ~ congratulations a & d!}

~

holland america tour?

2010-04-05T12:09:00.002-05:00

{photo: texas state library & archives}

{photo: cindy carpien, npr}

this morning npr carried a story on holland taylor, who's spent the last few years developing a one-man show on the topic of ann richards. taylor's name may not strike a chord, but she's been on just about every tv series since the early 70's — and the fiery redhead has been practicing in the badass chick department for decades (starting even before bosom buddies), playing authoritative figures: judges, executives, agents, doctors, deans ... and lots of moms. but this next role will culminate years of playing sassy, witty ladies with the best of them all — the decidedly non-fictitious texas governor (and personal hero), ann richards. ::eep!::

best of all, the location of the debut — new york? l.a.? um. galveston???

... think I might feel a pink mafia pilgrimage coming on.

~

strawberry dulce de leche cake

2010-04-04T18:19:00.013-05:00

it's already local strawberry season, and I've been prowling for recipes, beyond my standard shortcake and smoothie fallbacks. I still hope to make time for a good batch or two of strawberry jam (though this spring seems to have been substantially busier than last, by the looks of my dwindling stores), but in absence of that day, berries have been worked into yogurt, oatmeal and ... this cake.

this recipe features a slight yogurt tang, offsetting the rich caramel/berry sweetness. it triggers a sense memory for me, nostalgic of one of my mom's favorite treatments for fresh berries –whole berries simply dunked once in sour cream, then brown sugar, which we would enjoy, relaxed around the table after dinner.

strawberry dulce de leche cake

adapted from divine taste

8 oz. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

7 fl oz milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

14 oz. can/jar dulce de leche

1 stick butter

4 tbsp yogurt

1 cup (maybe a little more) strawberries, thinly sliced

grease tin generously with butter, and preheat oven to 350°f. in a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda.

in large bowl, beat butter, vanilla and dulce de leche together until combined. mix in yogurt and beat again. add half of flour mixture and half of milk, and fold in with a spatula.

fold in the remainder of flour mixture and milk, then fold in strawberry slices. pour batter into the cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes for an 8 inch bundt cake or a little longer for a 9 inch cake.

{oatmeal, adorned}

~

just quiet

2010-03-30T15:58:00.036-05:00

"collaborative silence is a lost art," said the reverend, softly — the crowd chuckled, politely.

thusly began a contemplative service for the church which hosts 110 singers for our weekly rehearsals — a musical gift of thanks. the provided bulletin informed us that it would be a service of readings, silence and music. that we should refrain from conversation and applause once the music had begun. that all cell phones should be turned off (not just silenced), and that after each reading, a bell would ring to mark the beginning and conclusion of five minutes of silence.

silence? silence.

most weekends around our household are pretty well booked solid. that's neither boast nor complaint, merely a statement of fact. most weekends involve rejuvenating time spent catching up with friends, cooking, or gardening. most sunday evenings, I survey the weekend and wonder at the things that can be accomplished in a 48 hour period. it's a rare weekend that the calendar is totally open. I was struck by the simple irony that without this scheduled obligation, I'd probably be too busy uploading video of our idiot cat to facebook, or gabbing with pals ... or gabbing with pals on facebook. I resented the obligation just a little. I could instead be planting beans, or pulling weeds, or doing a load of laundry. is silence that important? but it was on my calendar, so I went, though a nap tempted me as I peered under the couch, wondering where my shoes had been left.

"gather up
in the arms of your pity
the sick, the depraved
the desperate, the tired,
all the scum of our weary city
gather up in the arms of your pity
gather up
in the arms of your love
those who expect
no love from above"
~john musto

*******
and then the bell rang. I fought the impulse to reach for my cell phone. silence, you say? silence. but what does one do, without something to listen to — or say? no response. five minutes is such a long time, when you're accustomed to near-constant outside stimulus. when you're just a little bit type-a. to the untrained mind, it's an eternity to be left alone — alone with just your own thoughts and a few carefully selected, meditative words.

*******

requiem aeternam dona eis, domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis, te decet hymnus, deus in sion, et tibi reddetur votum in jerusalem; exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.
requiem aeternam dona eis, domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

kyrie eleison, christe eleison, kyrie eleison.

{grant them eternal rest, lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. you are praised, god, in zion, and homage will be paid to you in jerusalem. hear my prayer, to you all flesh will come. grant them eternal rest, lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.

lord, have mercy on us. christ, have mercy on us. lord, have mercy on us.}

Because here's something else that's true. In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship -- be it J.C. or Allah, be it Yahweh or the Wiccan mother-goddess or the Four Noble Truths or some infrangible set of ethical principles — is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things — if they are where you tap real meaning in life — then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already — it's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story. The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power — you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart — you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on.

Look, the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful; it is that they are unconscious. They are default-settings. They're the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that's what you're doing. And the world will not discourage you from operating on your default-settings, because the world of men and money and power hums along quite nicely on the fuel of fear and contempt and frustration and craving and the worship of self. Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. The freedom to be lords of our own tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the center of all creation. This kind of freedom has much to recommend it. But of course there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talked about in the great outside world of winning and achieving and displaying. The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. That is real freedom. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default-setting, the "rat race" — the constant gnawing sense of having had and lost some infinite thing.
~david foster wallace, from his 2005 commencement address at kenyon college

*********
and the bell rang again. and I took a deep breath. five minutes? I reread the text before me, and wondered in the word "freedom," and the concept of consciousness. zen practice is focused on mastery of presence — being connected fully to the immediate moment, and the wood chopping or water carrying (or motorcycle maintenance) at hand. what about it is so challenging as to require a lifetime of study? a hum fills the atmosphere as the air-conditioner kicks in, and I notice there's less fidgeting and throat-clearing among the crowd (maybe this quiet thing isn't so hard after all!). reading the words again, I focused again on the concept of consciousness, and tears welled up in my eyes, considering man's innate ability to unconsciously adapt, for good or ill. we become our impatient surroundings so easily — it's both a biological advantage and tragic human frailty. I watched the light play along the walls, a merle reflected from passing cars, and before I was able to compose myself again, the bell rang.

*********

mother mary, full of grace, awaken
all our homes are gone, our loved ones taken
taken by the sea
mother mary, calm our fears, have mercy
drowning in a sea of tears, have mercy
hear our mournful plea
our world has been shaken,
we wander our homelands forsaken
in the dark night of the soul
bring some comfort to us all,
o mother mary come and carry us in your embrace
that our sorrows may be faced
mary, fill the glass to overflowing
illuminate the path where we are going
have mercy on us all
in fun'ral fires burning
each flame to your myst'ry returning
in the dark night of the soul
your shattered dreamers, make them whole,
o mother mary find us where we've fallen out of grace,
lead us to a higher place
in the dark night of the soul
our broken hearts you can make whole,
o mother mary come and carry us in your embrace,
let us see your gentle face, mary
~ eliza gilkyson (hear the song here ... or here)

Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
~ Hebrews 4:12-16

*********
the bell rang, and this time a comfortable silence fell upon the congregants almost immediately. I noticed it was a little easier not reaching for my iphone; that breathing was simpler. I noted the subtle perfume of a woman nearby — not in an obnoxious, sneezing way. not overpowering — in fact it had only just danced into my consciousness at all: a hint of jasmine and ginger. scraps of music and phrases resonated in my ears and I was moved to tears more than once — but not necessarily tears of grief. emotion overwhelmed me — gratitude, love, fear, happiness — and maybe a little sadness, too. it wasn't so much that I was apprehended by all the things constant movement suppressed, but that in unhitching from the runaway horse, so to speak, I might moor to more meaningful things. I vowed to make more time for reflection. and then the bell rang again.

*********

come, thou fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
while the hope of endless glory
fills my heart with joy and love,
teach me ever to adore thee;
may I still thy goodness prove.

here I raise my ebenezer,
hither by thy help I’ve come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of god;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be;
let that grace now like a fetter
bind my wandering heart to thee:
prone to wander, lord, I feel it;
prone to leave the god I love.
here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
~robert robinson

*********
and then, just as I prepared to settle into the quiet once more, it was past. we were excused to go.

descending the steps back into the warm evening sun, it made me a little bit sad restoring power to my phone.

~

weekend piccys ~ extended spring break edition

2010-03-29T17:39:00.016-05:00

well, I've fallen behind again, so this may be an extended version of an already photo-heavy post. I took an extra-long spring break — only partly by design — to observe the local holiday called southby, and to visit family in colorado.

... only, we hadn't accounted for the noro virus ::scary music::, which swept through the house like wildfire. p3 was the only one who avoided "the vomits," and she was working some sort of mystical juju to keep her cool. it was amazing. and now I'm about as sick as a person can be ... of chicken-and-rice.

however, aside from the sick, there was much fun had, and it was wonderful getting a little extra time with the munchkins.

{we played with cascarones}

{~egg shells filled with confetti~}

{because who doesn't love confetti?}

{it may not actually have been a white-out, but it snowed as much as I've ever seen}

{so the kiddos did the only natural thing: they went swimming!}

{... and we looked at all the pretty snow}

{we played with trains ...}

{... and looked at all the pretty snow}

{we stomped around knee-deep in it ...}

{... and looked at all the pretty snow}

{pretty, no?}

{and we perused lots of old albums ...}

{... playing "where's juvenile daddy?"}

{there he is! ~ and I kinda' wish I still had that radass jumper}

{we just lay low until it was safe to venture out to the airport}

{and return home, to sunshine and ladybug season}

all that's left is cleanup

2010-03-21T08:31:00.003-05:00

to all the sxsw'ers reconsidering — following the temperature dip of 38 degrees in 3 hours — that condo purchase: you're welcome. you don't know it yet, but you would've hated august.

... now please deposit your empty cups in the receptacles on your way out.

~

weekend piccys ~ southby edition

2010-03-20T18:05:00.003-05:00

{a week-long party ~ registration booth encouraging artists to "be safe!"}

{ooo-wee-ooo we looked just like buddy holly ~ urban art near where we caught a bit of joe ely's parkinglot concert}

{perfect weather for an official (no, really!) festival-sanctioned back-alley show}

{and for spending a little time in line}

{a colorful weekend}

{with lots of genres represented ~ loving the accessories on this buckaroo}

{... and, strangely, lots of babies ~ properly accessorized with ear-protection, of course}

{... and loads of free beer}

{... and free music}

{the festival can be as charged-up or as relaxed as you please}

{you can choose to be as good (or bad) as you like}

{... just as long as you're on the cash economy}

{after just a few days we were thoroughly pooped}

our favorite hipster ...

2010-03-18T17:35:00.015-05:00

... of sxsw.

among all the ridiculous hipsters – from the artfully disheveled, the retro-mohawk'd and tattoo bedecked, to the spandex-clad wannabe models standing on line for hours in 6 inch heels – this gentleman and his dancing-companion were our favorites. we replicated his dance the rest of the weekend (and weeks later), with the addition of a dapper fingermustache (no tattoo necessary). breaking from b, a little, it must be said that I fully endorse the trend toward public dancing, after a decade (or two) of steadfast indie head-bobbing (hula-hooping in the dance area ... notasmuch).

music by the generationals, btw, could get almost anyone moving to their poppy hipster dance anthems. and um, yeah. they're not normally so bass-heavy. that's a combination of really terrific sound at club de ville, and really terrible production value (iphone video) on my part.

admittedly, a bit silly ... but don't they look like they're having more fun than these guys?

southby is like disneyland for musically inclined grownups, except instead of throwing hands in the air at the most exciting part of the roller coaster, folks just stand in place, arms crossed and head nodding.

look to the rainbow

2010-03-17T15:26:00.001-05:00

a happy saint patty's to ye.

~

snowbound

2010-03-16T18:30:00.007-05:00

well, not really. but we did find snow crab on sale for $6/lb! ... and to offset the heavy carbon footprint, a few (buckets of) snowpeas and a handful of herbs from the yard. super simple for a weeknight (heh. especially since b shelled the crab before I returned home from work).
based on bittman's recipe, almost everything should already be in your pantry. he even okays the use of pasteurized, canned crab. we used a fresh paprika and dill pappardelle from pasta & co., and combined steps, since the pasta took only about a minute to cook. keep processes separate if using dry pasta, as the garlic will burn the moment you walk away. and, well ... burnt garlic tastes pretty much like ass.

crab and snowpea pasta
adapted from bittman's recipe of the day

salt to taste
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsps garlic, slivered or minced
2 dried red chilies, or to taste
2 - 3 handfuls snowpeas, washed and strings removed
1 pound pasta
1/2 pound crab meat, or more
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it. in a saucepan large enough to hold the cooked pasta, over med heat, add oil, garlic, chilies snowpeas, and a pinch of salt. cook, shaking pan (and adding a little pasta water), until garlic just begins to color and snowpeas turn bright green; turn off heat.

when water boils, cook pasta. when it is just about done, turn heat under oil back to low and add crab; stir once or twice. drain pasta (reserve a bit more of cooking water), and toss it in crab sauce to coat. if mixture seems a bit dry, add reserved cooking water or more olive oil. stir in parsley, adjust seasoning, and dust with grated parm.

postscript: some folks claim it's incorrect, adding parmesan to seafood, but I ask — how can it be wrong when it tastes so right?

~

weekend piccys ~

2010-03-15T17:05:00.003-05:00

{harnessing my type-a ~ floral arranging for deb's big day}

{... so the weekend began a little early ~ value-added puzzles on the caps of "texas gatorade"}

{daffodil weather arrived just in time}

{lucky weather for a lucky bride}

{a spring in everyone's step}

{very few photos of the decorative details I created ~ b called this one "the mossy deathstar" ~ hopefully I'll post more later}

{the most involved floral arranging ~ a kissing ball for the flower girl}

{gorgeous gown for a gorgeous bride}

{and a gorgeous day ~ windows flung wide}

{all of them}

{yaay!}

{the food was pretty spectacular, too ~ local goat cheeses. made by neighbor to the caterer}

{french picnic themed party ~ the bride and her pa enjoying the evening}

{b & I had a wonderful time, too}

{oh! and one more detail ~ the getaway car}

{and after all the work saturday, we did deliberately little, sunday ~ some weird kale in the garden, growing odd frills}

{some planning ~ many topics}

{t.kitten attempting to flatten himself for birdwatching}

{intent}

{warm evening light has returned too ~ daylight savings rocks my world}

when the morning comes

2010-03-09T17:25:00.000-06:00

gawd, I'm such a geek. but this okgo video makes me smile. actually, parts make me laugh out loud. it's just so cleverly put together; a perfect mix of geeky, scienc-ie precision, and true art. watch it ... and then if you're like me, watch it a few more times to catch the bits that slipped by unnoticed. word is it was a shoestring budget kind of affair. and though it was clearly done in one take, I wonder just how many attempts were required to get there.

my brother's and my childhood marble-runs were never so cool.

weekend piccys ~ sickie

2010-03-08T19:11:00.001-06:00

{not the worst weekend for being sick ~ felled by a stomach bug}

{dreary weather made it easier to stay on the couch ~ wild onions}

{I rode along ~ since not everyone was fine with an empty tummy}

{the best bbq within city limits could easily be transported outside the city ~ franklin bbq is a wonderful addition to the mobile food scene}

{not that we'd want them to go anyplace}

{aaron franklin knows his business}

{grab a plate and some fixins ...}

{... and pull up a chair near the woodpile}

{but we're not his only fans ~ get there for lunch, or not at all. shop closes when they run out of bbq for the day}

{pleeeaaaase? ~ where could t.kitten have learned that behavior?}

{oh. right.}

{they prefer the team method}

{doubly effective?}

{"people love us" ~ I'll say! and pets, too!}

drool ~ kelly moore bags

2010-03-07T12:32:00.001-06:00

doesn't this seem like a necessity for european travel? I really hate looking like a tourist/easy mark/punkass ugly american, and a bulky black nylon bag is one of the easiest ways to appear ... um ... like you're carrying something valuable.

this camera bag looks like a (cute!) purse, but is well-padded, and has customizable dividers. come to think of it, it's pretty cagey carrying my baby around in my humongopurse every day (shhh ... don't tell my insurance company). so this wouldn't just be a *travel* expenditure, right?

::sigh::

~

weekend piccys ~ showered with love

2010-03-03T14:04:00.024-06:00

"who are you and what have you done with my not-so-girly, kindofironic girlfriend?"

okay, so maybe b didn't actually say it. but that was the look coming from the other end of the couch, while crafting little pink flags for little white paper straws ... to go in dainty pink passionfruit sodas. what was the cause of this 180 from my normal m.o.?

deb's bridal shower. well, okay. more than that, it was the realization that my not-so-girly, survived-a-year-on-a-fifteen-man-americorps-van, elite athlete friend was indeed struck by the girly-girl lightning bolt. she is a bridey bride. not a bridezilla. there's not an iota of negative energy about this woman. she has, however, picked out the most glamorous strapless satin gown she could get her hands on, got herself a hawt little birdcage veil, and absolutely refuses to wear flats, though the terrain at her venue is ... well, let's just say it's not paved with glass-smooth marble.

the other half of the story has to do with em's dissertation and ... um ... jazz? em is in full-on student mode, and there's just not much time for considering martha stewart among the stacks and stacks of institutionally bound reading material. lucky thing her casa looks like she'd been planning this particular party for decades!

enter one slightly ironic, not-terribly-frilly gal (when I'm old, I hope to be the ousier boudreaux of the group), with an ardent love for thematic variation. give me a topic to riff on, and only a hand clapped over my mouth will shut me up. especially where parties are concerned. go ahead — ask my mom for pics of the pocahontas party thrown for that texan's 5th birthday — it was totally off the hook. we might have gone a liiittle bit crazy for deb's sake, but it was so much fun embracing whimsy and creating a ridiculous, frothy affair for our favorite bridey bride. just don't expect it to stick or anything.

in all honesty, the day was not completely devoid of irony: our friend serge was a recurring fixture on the day's randomly selected, french-picnic-themed playlist. no less than 4 times, someone had to make their way to the docking station and casually forward to the next song.

{em knows how to get things started ~ a kir pétillant toast}

{and a taste of some treats ~ white chocolate bark with an *entire* tub of freeze-dried strawberries, pulverized in the prep chopper}

{aaaand a blackberry buttercream macaron ~ samples from the sweet, perfectionist owner of boîte}

{we got a great deal on the flowers just by expressing appreciation for the oldskool honky tonk radio program playing in the shop}

{prizes for quiz winners}

{the party decor fit right into em's beautiful everyday decorating scheme}

{just add paper poufs and flowers to her perfectly pressed linens}

{a few tulips}

{and some treats ~ strawberry cakes and macarons flavored with st. germain (white filling) and salted caramel (beige)}

{always the gracious host ~ em pours as the gals arrive}

{... non-alcoholic options for the preggers}

{such beautiful food ~ provided by karen provost of wimberley lavender farm}

{just gorgeous}

{her quiches are kind of spectacular}

{and didn't I warn you em could write a book on decorating?}

{the lovely and generous doubletonic assisted with dessert}

{and it's a good thing, because I was totally preoccupied with silly tasks}

{only the best of wishes}

{... see?}

{pom poms are so easy to make, it'd be foolish to pay $19.99 for the martha stewart kit}

{but I'm no hater, since her paper punches are so cute ~ favors to make proust proud}

{added perk ~ we got to keep the flowers around following the festivities}

{gorgeous in the morning kitchen window}

I want to kishu

2010-03-01T17:03:00.003-06:00

among the trader joe's treats k & o smuggled back from cali for deb's shower, was a carry-on full of bay area citrus. namely meyer lemons (I just knew that karen was a kindred spirit!) and eensie little kishu mandarins.

I love when tiny, pixie food is also perfectly delightful to eat. and this teeny souvenir was seedless and as sweet as candy.

thanks, k & o!

nearly here

2010-02-28T22:02:00.000-06:00

today was so gorgeous, it's hard to imagine it snowed just tuesday. yep. it snowed giant, sloppy flakes for several hours. but none of it needed shoveling the next day.
... when it's 97 degrees and not-quite-june and I hate my life, please remind me I've never owned a snowshovel.

snowbody said it was easy

2010-02-23T17:35:00.004-06:00

in my whole time in this town — holycow, almost 14 years — it's snowed just a few times. mostly big nighttime flakes, gone by first light. today we finally got the substantial kind of snow people around here will remember their entire lives: two whole inches! ::ducks:: okay, okay ... sorry! It's nothing like what denver or lansing has accumulated this year ... but it's notable down here, where the average annual temp is probably somewhere around 73 degrees.

it started with sleet in the early morning (that dog required an umbrella'd escort outside to get his morning business done), tick ticking on the windows. but just as I arrived at a meeting, the glassy beads of ice turned to huge snow amoebas.

that sound is snow. this was no light, sound-dampening snow, but the slushy kind that soaks you from head to toe. but pretty, anyhow.

{dusted miller}

{needs salt}

{about the best we can do in these parts}

parlez vous ~ farmer?

2010-02-22T18:04:00.004-06:00

"good morning — I'll take a dozen eggs, please," I said to sebastian, local farmer/purveyor of poultry and rabbit.

"sheeken or dook." he stated

"hmm? oh ... mmm ... chicken, please."

he reached into his cooler, drawing out a crate of eggs, which he opened to inspect. he lifted an exaggerated ellipse from its compartment, and pronounced nonchalantly that one egg would contain a double yolk.

in an (apparently) lame attempt at small talk, I proclaimed "hey! some people say that's good luck!"

silence. followed by an exasperated look, just short of an eye roll. "why on earth would anyone say that."

I heart french people. but lucky or no, my double-yolk egg was delicious.

weekend piccys

2010-02-22T17:47:00.007-06:00

{a gorgeous weekend ...}

{... for getting things done ...}

{... before all eyes will be on deb}

{but, you know ... not in a creepy way}

{spring is on the tip of each branch}

{nearly bursting forth}

{nice weather for gardening, too ~ snowpeas}

{and a belated birthday get-together}

{for a dear, sweet friend}

{all in all, a very happy weekend}

~

la boîte cafe

2010-02-18T15:49:00.008-06:00

one of the newest additions to the local mobile trailer-food scene ... doesn't actually have wheels.

la boîte is just a humble shipping container, converted into an airy, modern spot for locally roasted coffee, pastries and sandwiches. but the pastries ... my god. and the macarons.

just go. that's all there really is to say.

ohyeah, and that the amazing baker responsible for these miraculous feats of flour and butter has a wickedcool web presence.

her process page includes a slideshow of beginning-to-end croissants. gorgeous.

~

valentine cookies

2010-02-13T12:30:00.005-06:00

linzer cookies adapted from kate zuckerman's the sweet life
makes about 12 large 3 1/2 in cookies

5 ounces almonds (or 1 1/2 cups almond meal)
2 1/2 cups (350 g) flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp baking powder

8 ounces (226 g) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (156 g) sugar
1 egg, room temperature
zest from 1/2 lemon, scrubbed
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raspberry jam
powdered sugar for dusting

place almonds and approx half of the flour in a food processor, and process until the nuts are ground into a fine powder. combine with the rest of the flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk together.

put butter into a large bowl and cream on medium speed for about a minute. add granulated sugar and beat for several minutes, until mixture is very light colored and fluffy. add in egg, lemon zest and vanilla, and beat until combined (2 minutes or so), scraping down the sides as necessary. add flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined, again, scraping sides as necessary. continue beating for a couple minutes until the dough starts coalescing into a ball. dump dough onto a parchment-lined surface and flatten into an inch-thick rough rectangle, then wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (up to 3 days).

when it's time to bake, preheat oven to 350°f and line baking sheets with parchment. remove dough from refrigerator and let rest at room temp for 10 minutes to soften some (but not too warm, or this dough becomes sticky). roll dough out to about 1/16" thick before cutting alternating hearts, placing shapes on baking sheets with at least an inch between each. any scraps can be re-rolled and cut again, chilling dough again if it becomes too soft to work with. use a smaller cutter to make a second heart in half of the cookies. bake the little hearts as well, or combine scraps for re-rolling.

bake cookies for 10-14 minutes. cookies should turn lightly golden, and the whole house should smell like toasted almonds. cool on wire racks before removing from baking sheets.

these cookies are similar to cannoli, in that assembling them too far ahead allows them to soften, as they absorb liquid from the jam (but I like them a little soft). when nearly ready to serve, spread the flat side of solid hearts with warm jam, sift powdered sugar over the cutout hearts, then sandwich together with jam in the center and sugar on top. if there's any jam left, fill the heart-shaped recess, as well.

{sunlight through buttery parchment}

thrift thursday ~ stir it up

2010-02-11T21:05:00.013-06:00

in what seemed like a brilliant stroke of luck, I finally spotted a vintage stand mixer (or 4) at my neighborhood op-shop. it's a well-kept secret that many goodwill shops save the best stuff tucked in a corner for saturday auctions. it's all official and such, with a caller shouting "going once — going twice," and convenient silent bidding during the week. but to ensure a "win," it's important to show up on saturday afternoon. that, and it's an economical way to get your adrenaline pumping. ::grin::

so after stalking the bid book all week, checking back once or twice to see about competing interest, I made my way over to the auction. my eye was on on the kitchenaid (item number 55), but the $14 vintage sunbeam was a backup plan (item number 54), with no paper bidders. somehow, I won both quite easily (again ... always go to the auction) and collected my very heavy, very redundant winnings for $60.63 total. with tax.

um, yeah. except that I think I've discovered the reason for the generous donation: someone out there is mixing concrete in his or her stand mixers. although each electric item is tested prior to reaching the sales floor, their testers have clearly never smelled a dying motor. in fact, on lower speeds, the kitchenaid sounds a bit like the gears are slipping. not good.

so now we're talking:

one mixer - $40

plus bowl - $30

plus whisk- $15

plus repair- $???

equals not such a great deal after all. ::sigh::
time to see if they'll take back bad merch.

and yet ... how can I stay terribly upset in the face of disappointment, with this view from my office, in the gray and dismal weather?

I tiptoed over – past the barbed-wire – mission-impossible-style to get a gander ( ... ooor the gate was open and the research staff quite friendly).

some sort of experimental, man-eating superplant, no doubt.

super commercial

2010-02-09T07:03:00.004-06:00

call me a dirty hippie, but I'm not sure there's anything wrong with the apocalyptic scenario audi lay before us sunday night (that's right — I'm from cali).

... except the part about checkpoint vehicle searches performed by an aardvark. no really. go check it — 41 seconds in.

~

weekend piccys

2010-02-08T18:29:00.002-06:00

{gathering inspiration into little piles ~ planning a shower,
just a few weeks away ...}

{... try and guess the theme!}

{a favorite vendor has returned to the farmer's market, under their own marquis}

{their onion and bleu cheese quiche makes my knees a little weak}

{so we fortified ourselves with lots of belgian at the market's annual beer sale}

{a walk in the beautiful weather reminds us baseball season begins soon ~ field practice}

{and spring will bee returning any day now}

{looks like it will be a terrific year for spring blooms}

{a sunny souvenir for the inevitable shift back to wintry weather ~ texas weather is totally schizo, we're due for sleet and/or snow this week}

{just warming up for the superbowl, the usual brunch bunch demolished an unbelievable amount of szechuan food ...}

{... at our favorite, very authentic, spot ~ absolutely no sweet and sour chicken here}

{a little pre-game homework ~ did you guess right?}

{I wish you all could come ~ it's coming together to be so lovely and (hopefully) fun}

~

citrus upside-down cake

2010-02-06T10:24:00.003-06:00

if memory serves, my mom's favorite cake is of the upsidedown pineapple variety. and today, if memory continues to serve, is her birthday — so without further ado, let's get the party started!

about a million years ago, or what seems that way, she introduced me to the star-fruit, purchased at a fruit stand in hong kong. we dove into into it immediately with a pocket knife (remember when it was still okay to travel with a swiss-army on your key ring?). it was surprisingly tart and juicy, and a truly unforgettable travel moment.

this is a seasonally appropriate version of a cake that I probably would still prefer with sweeter, caramelized pineapple or mango (or even — dare I say — stone fruit??). which begs the question, when exactly is starfruit in-season in this hemisphere? lately, many exotic tropical fruit varieties have been cultivated in florida — not exactly local on the same scale as the valley, but it's a heckuva lot closer to texas than sri lanka! the meyer lemon, while delicious, becomes more bitter the longer this cake stands, a consideration if make-ahead is a standard m.o..

citrus upside down cake
from america's test kitchen's patently elitest baking illustrated

topping:

4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 star fruit (carambola), cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 meyer lemon, sliced paper-thin crosswise, seeds discarded

cake:
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tbsps cornmeal

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsps unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (plus 2 tbsps — reserved) granulated or turbinado sugar

1 1/2tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs, separated

2/3 cup milk

for topping:
preheat oven to 350° and set rack to lower-middle spot. grease a 9-inch nonstick cake pan. in saucepan, over moderate heat, add 4 tablespoons of the butter and, when melted, stir in brown sugar until pale and foamy, about 4 minutes. remove from heat, and arrange fruit slices in the melted brown sugar.

for cake:
in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter with sugar until light and fluffy. beat in vanilla and egg yolks, one at a time. at low speed, beat in dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
in a stainless steel bowl, beat egg whites with 2 tablespoons sugar, at high speed until firm peaks form. fold one-third of beaten whites into the batter, then fold in the rest.

scrape batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. let cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then invert onto a plate. serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.

weekend piccys

2010-02-03T19:03:00.004-06:00

{did someone say phở? ~ perfect for a cold winter evening }

{that happened to be a holiday}

{then tea with a beloved friend}

{and also a newfound friend}

{at a favorite spot ~ blue dahlia bistro}

{the wolf moon watched from above}

{perhaps as reminder to watch your back ~ it's girlscout cookie season}

{as if there weren't enough sweets around, a little baking rounded out the weekend}

~

weekend piccys

2010-01-27T16:04:00.006-06:00

{la zona rosa}

{setting-up for sound-check}

{if your instrument is as portable as mine, that's time for amusing yourself}

{lighting guy improvising}

{so everyone can see what the lead-g is up to}

{the weekend was amplified}

{and contemplative}

{before we headed back south for resonant color and flavors ~ after lunch, we picked up a little dry ice and some paletas, made from just pureed fruit and cane sugar}

{yep.}

{and yes, it's actually warm enough for palm trees, (a sort of) parrots, and popsicles in january}

{so many choices}

{and so friendly}

{if you can't go to them ...}

{... they'll even come to you}

reliability is overrated

2010-01-24T19:36:00.005-06:00

since this venture has never been a funded assignment, but was begun as an enriching experience for my own darned edification, there's no one to whom an apology is owed. but somehow 8 yet-to-be-finished posts sitting on my blogger desktop continue glaring at me like the evil eye. sometimes inspiration dries up for a while. and until the guilt is released, it's really difficult to do much beyond hitting the publish button on those crap bare-bones recipe posts.

...so I think this is how things will go down: I'll publish some backdated stuff, without pretending I was really keeping up with my own ambitious schedule. and then from here on, I'll post things as time permits ... organically. because [asking self] this blogging thing should be fun, right?

and to remind myself, a hipster haiku – discovered long ago – not sure of its origins. (to whomever it belongs: nice work, even if verbalizing appreciation for it is sort of bougie)

i do not blog daily
such foolish consistency
says “i have no life"

banana pudding

2010-01-22T12:48:00.003-06:00

by the time I was 5, I'd already become good pals with strep throat. I actually enjoyed the daily regime of bubble gum pink penicillin, and had a favorite alligator-shaped medicine spoon. when I was told five would be the big year that I would be entitled not only to pretty grown-up bedroom furniture and a kitten of my very own, but I'd also be losing my childish tonsils and accessorizing with brand new tubes for my ears ... I was thrilled! what can I say, I was always a little odd.

I recall (not the painful blood-draw itself, but) getting to keep a (clean) syringe for a badass new bath-toy (..."why is the ceiling always wet?"), and I remember the afghan draped over me in the freezing o-r, and the suggestion that the anesthesia mask was perfect for playing elephant. I remember a little bit of puking after waking, but more memorable was the presentation of a stuffed dog I named tonsils (hmmm ... an odd kid, yet somehow unimaginative). and then lots and lots of jell-o and ice cream. I also recall my kindergarten classroom seeming much louder. but mostly, as a kid, I'd always sort of perceived the tonsil-less as an elite club, privileged in a way, and sharing a sort of bond. perhaps we'd just all been sickly kids who had experienced a sudden, measurable increase to our quality of life.

fast-forward to grown-up-hood, where this relatively minor outpatient surgery means something entirely different to an adult. besides the dependency issues facing an otherwise healthy grown-up, suddenly unable to drive for two weeks ... it just plain hurts. it sucks, actually. no — mine haven't grow back. instead, a good friend has been forced to undergo humiliation and discomfort my five-year-old self couldn't have imagined. luckily, one of her favorite things in the world is decidedly cool and squashy, and relatively protein-rich to boot!

banana pudding

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups granulated or turbinado sugar
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
dash of salt

7 cups low-fat milk
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 cup butter, cut into small-ish pieces
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 - 3 ripe bananas, pureed
1 box plain ol' 'nilla wafers ~ couldn't find a dirty-hippie version

combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. in medium saucepan, heat milk to 160°. gradually stir 1/4 of milk into yolks, stir into reserved dry ingredients, and combine with the rest of the hot milk. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (no really — the easiest way to lumpy pudding is to walk away from the stove for just a second), for 8 minutes or until it coats the spoon. remove from heat; stir in butter, vanilla and pureed bananas, and let cool to room temperature-ish.

arrange 'nilla wafers in a 4-quart bowl or dish. spoon 1/3 pudding mixture over. repeat layers with remaining cookies and pudding, arranging remaining wafers around inside edge of dish. gently push wafers into pudding. chill.

pack into cooler full of ice for surreptitious placement on friend's front stoop, then carefully ring bell and run for it before her groggy ass can get up from the couch.

~

weekend piccys ~ b's bday

2010-01-20T18:13:00.002-06:00

{the working weekend was at least business casual}

{and allowed a few spare moments for normal erranding ~ the new kids at the farmer's market...}

{...popular for good reason. buttermilk whole-wheat biscuit with fresh local butter and mayhaw jelly}

{and a bonus day for b's birthday-lunch pilgrimage for the best enchiladas in 100 miles}

{unnecessary menu ~ we'll take 2 of the #2, please}

{old skool decor}

{it's the kind of place where the regulars sit shoulder-to-shoulder}

{and you can't leave without a souvenir ~ church mission bakesale and some fresh tortillas}

{though it's january, we're sort of already on the verge of spring...}

{...so it was time to nail down some details on a friend's march wedding}

{sorry, sad dog, you won't be attending}

{champagne helps the decision-making process}

{won't it be pretty in the setting evening?}

~

weekend piccys - nyc in the blink of an eye

2010-01-12T16:03:00.002-06:00

{this weekend I headed to nyc, to see the lights...}

{...and a few shows before they went dark ~ everything about finian's rainbow was terrific except the early close date}

{we slept where the brightest wit was known to haunt}

{where today matilda occupies the dimly lit round table, preferably in a warm lap}

{we headed to the brightest spot in manhattan}

{to rockefeller center — where I secretly hoped to spot tina fey — and the tree...}

{...where sadly, we were just moments too late. um, unless someone said something about needing some 2x4's}

{but not to worry, the view was still quite pretty}

{and one place, at least, had snow}

{and light to spare}

{a little lunch near the village — that's the parisienne at s'mac — and some very lucky thrifting}

{a little more touring — to stay warm — before jumping back on a flight home...}

{...where my own christmas tree needing felling}

~

and awaay we go ...

2010-01-06T21:57:00.007-06:00

somehow my little work mini-break became a full-blown blogging (posting – not writing) hiatus, but rest assured I accomplished almost *nothing in two weeks' time. now that the calendar has been flipped, and things have returned to ... umm ... my version of normal, it's right back up to full-steam, with a work event and b's birthday next week, and rehearsals beginning again the following.

so tonight I type with wet nailpolish, carry-on already surreptitiously stashed in the car (for the last two days), preparing to awake at the kind of hour that can only indicate to that dog that his mama (see: freaked-out p.t.s.d.-eye cookie – dec 12) is leaving for at least a day or two (under no normal circumstances am I ever likely to be out of bed before 6, nevermind 4:45). this time, he's relatively lucky; it's newbag'o'food day and I'll only be away for 51 hours. 51 frozen hours.

{dad's new gf is a foodie, and has her sight set on donut plant ~ I'll try not to put up a fight}

so, while I'd hoped to get a few posts up before heading out – including some actual film-based holga pics that should have turned out – that will have to wait yet another weekend. I promise they'll be worth it.

* besides cooking, closet cleaning, taking pitchurs, napping with the dog, and reading (some crappy, some excellent)

nyc bound

2009-12-29T07:59:00.006-06:00

on a whim, it seems I'm headed back to new york for 48 hours, to see a few shows with the broadway-obsessed portion of the family. the weather looks to be unfortunately, ridiculously, cold. I may be forced to wear every article of clothing I own ("checked baggage costs how much now?"), but I'm determined to get some use out of the prezzie santa brought last week, for our low-tech christmas.

{holga love}

wish me luck in finding time to venture out of the immediate times square area. the theater fixation often results in a staggering number of shows per visit — 7 in 4 days, once — eating nothing but giant pretzels for stamina, and well, that's just unbalanced.

{getting in the mood ~ h&h bagel, smoked-salmon schmear and a celray}

that, and I'm fairly certain that particular 10-block area encapsulates everything that is wrong with our nation. you got your good morning america mob, rising at 4-am (eastern!!!) for 5 seconds of background airtime and a hand-lettered sign, your fraud-a and faux-lex vendors selling from black trashbags (who may or may not be supporting the terrorists), your world's largest applebees (no really, that's the official name), your red m&m guy dressed as the naked cowboy (who sued and has retired to boca, I'm told), and almost nothing New on broadway – nearly all plots are derived from abba songs or adam sandler films. or shrek's flatuence. it will be fun, surely, seeing a show or two with the sister who attends a performing arts boarding school (though we v-chat often, there's rarely enough real time together). but generally, the experience is totally coocooforcocoapuffs (b will sagely sit it out), and may require sneaking out for a few early-morning walks in the muffled, snowy park.

you know ... for photos! ... riiight! quiet—err— scenic photos.

~

preserved lemons

2009-12-28T20:23:00.009-06:00

these might be the least involved preserves I've yet attempted. the recipe comes from eugenia bone's well preserved, which wisely accompanies each "canned" recipe with a few dishes using them ... because what's the point in putting-up food if you don't ever use it? one of the accompanying recipes in this chapter is a lemon risotto with soft-shell crab. I can hardly wait to try it out when spring warms the breezes. 'round these parts, that should be sometime in mid-february.

preserved meyer lemons

take five or six meyer lemons – called "valley lemons" in texas (no difference except about a buck-ana-half a pound at the market) – preferably discovered on your porch, following one of doubletonic's visits home (that girl deserves to be called the giving tree, for all the produce that mysteriously arrives on our front stoop). scrub them well, as the skin will be included.

bring a wide-mouth pint jar and its lid to a boil in a large pot of water. boil for 10 minutes before removing with tongs.

when the jar is dry but still hot, cut about half of lemons into wedges and arrange in jar – packed as tightly as possible, sprinkling a little of 1/2 cup total kosher salt between layers.

cut remaining lemons in half and squeeze into jar, until everything is submerged. any variety other than meyer lemons may require a few extras to generate enough juice. harder lemons may benefit from 10 seconds in the microwave or two minutes in simmering water. remove any visible air bubbles by nudging fruit aside with a skewer or knife, to allow juice to fill the space. screw lid on until finger-tight.

store on kitchen counter, while lemons ferment for two weeks (non-meyer varietals may require 3 to 4 weeks – they're ready when the peel is soft enough to tear), turning the jar every few days to redistribute salt. after the lemons soften and the juice becomes syrupy, refrigerate up to 6 months.

that's it. no, really! to use, scrape off seeds, ignore the white precipitate of salt/oil/pith, and chop. regular lemons may require scraping off of the pith, but meyers are good as-is. but then again, meyers are practically perfect in every way.

chard gratin

2009-12-26T16:15:00.003-06:00

1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

3 oz gruyère cheese, grated (1 cup)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp assorted fresh herbs (chives, tarragon, and flat-leaf parsley, par example), finely chopped

1/8 tsp nutmeg, grated

1/2 cup milk, cream, or dairy-free substitute

1 tbsp all-purpose flour (to thicken, this could be replaced with gluten-free alt)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 bunches swiss chard, leaves and stems separated and both cut into 1-inch pieces

1 bunch spinach, coarse stems discarded, leaves coarsely chopped

toss bread crumbs with oil, garlic, herbs, and salt and pepper (to taste – I like quite a bit of pepper with gratineed greens) in a bowl. preheat oven to 400°f and bring a large pot of water to boil. when boiling, add chopped chard stems, torn chard and spinach. cook until mostly done, then blanch in cold water. squeeze as much water out as is manageable and roughly chop.

in a large skillet, add butter, and saute onion over med-low heat, until soft and translucent. sift flour into the same pan, stirring to combine with butter, and continue stirring until a light roux is formed [then add milk – thanks dt]. add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and remove from heat. toss greens with cream sauce and transfer to a buttered 12-inch oval gratin or 2-quart shallow baking dish, spreading evenly. top greens with cheese and bread crumbs and bake until bubbling and crumbs are golden, 20 minutes or so.

merry christmas to all ...

2009-12-25T22:14:00.009-06:00

...and to all a good night.

{hand-stitched retro-chic ornament by grammie}

so as with most everything else lately, this post comes a little late in the day. but sometimes the point is just showing up at all, right? so to anyone out there, friends and family near and far, please know that I'm with y'all in spirit tonight, and though we're apart this day, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

blech. okay, that's all the sap I'll subject you to for now. non-traditional christmas feast recipes coming soon (hint: israeli couscous?).

gingerbread pear cake

2009-12-24T18:31:00.006-06:00

a few days before christmas, doubletonic dropped a surprise by our front porch on her way out of town: some of the sweetest, prettiest pears mail-order can deliver. someone had sent them to her workplace, and well, dt's coworkers just must not have ever heard of the legend of harry & david. despite dt's best efforts to work her way through the crate, there were still several perfect, golden-wrapped pears begging to be devoured. the question was not whether they would be dispatched, but in what form. but since it was so near christmas, any imagining of pears came along with the spicy richness of ginger and molasses. done. this cake is a paradox of lightness and savory depth. it was one of my favorite (and easiest) of martha's recipes, and now I believe it may be even better. mmm ... yeah, and better on the hips than the usual embellishment of whipped cream.

gingerbread pear cake
(serves at least 12 — adapted from martha)

8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus some for pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little for the pans
1 cup boiling water
2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp candied ginger, diced to taste
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup unsulfured molasses
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
confectioners' sugar, for dusting

heat oven to 350 degrees. butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch pan (or two 8" rounds), and set aside. in a small-ish bowl with high sides, combine boiling water and baking soda, and set aside. in a mid-sized bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder, and set aside.

in a large bowl, cream butter until light, then add brown sugar and beat until very fluffy. beat in molasses and grated ginger, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture, then beat in eggs (be sure to add eggs, lightly beaten). stir in pears (or place directly into the pans, tarte tatin style, as this batter is quite loose and they pretty much fall directly to the bottom of the pan anyway).

pour batter into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. cool completely on a wire rack before dusting liberally with confectioners’ sugar.

then take one over to your landlord's house so they'll reconsider raising the rent in 2010.

~

happy solstice

2009-12-21T19:41:00.006-06:00

70 degrees here, on the first official day of winter. it would feel better somehow if frost hadn't killed the tomatoes two weeks ago.

{vainly hoping for over-wintering morning glories}

ah well, I s'pose there's no room for complaint. the winter greens and snow peas are doing just fine.

{baby heirloom kale}