Food, Shelter & Clothing

And then we had a Sunday

2010-06-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Broad beans: nature's over packaging

Towpath: we had a drink and watched drunk people capsize. Literally.

And some nicer than usual street art.

The Snick Off: Test 1, Picnic

2010-03-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

I am very excited to bring you a new Food, Shelter & Clothing feature!! In our house we are calling it "the snick off challenge" which will chronicle our tests of the hypothesis "there may be a chocolate bar better than Snickers." Luckily, we live in the land of candy or sweet counters. We will try every one and report dutifully back to you, dear reader. Also, we will rate these chocolates on the Snickers rating where 10 = Snickers, 0 = no Snickers. This is an independent self funded study.

Today, we chose to sample the Picnic Bar.

Our Picnic Bar photographed upon several of the books I'm currently reading on the dining room table.

Before starting, we cleansed our palates.

Unwrapped, it looked somewhat less appealing. Yes, in case you were wondering, my knife does have a disco glitter handle.

The Snick Off:
The Mister: Despite its turd like appearance, the Picnic Bar is a deviation on the concept of a caramel nut chocolate concoction with an infusion of rice krispies and raisins. The flavor on first bite, not entierly out of tune wiht the almighty snickers, is quite pleasant. Unfortunately, on further chewing the Picnic bar doesn't deliver on its promise. It goes from chewy to gooey. Snicker Rating: 5.5

FS&C: I would describe the Picnic bar as a Fruit and Nut Bar with caramel and rice krispies. I don't know what lepersy looks like, but this is how I imagine chocolate covered lepersy. It tastes much better than chocolate covered lepersy, but once you start thinking of lepersy your chocolate bar enjoyment isn't great. More seriously, I would pick a Fruit and Nut bar over a picnic because the caramel isn't salty enough and the rice krispies make it too textural. It is ok, but shall not be repeated. Snicker Rating: 4

Market Report: Nonsense

2010-03-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

Breaking News!

2010-02-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

My mother, a very wise woman, thinks the fight over water is the next big thing.

Pomme D'amour!

2010-02-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

The Mister adores potatoes, so for Valentine's Day, we had beet root and parsnip hash, broccoli with worcestershire butter, and HEART SHAPED POTATOES. All of this was topped of with Frankfurter Greuner Saus and washed down with a nice dry cava. And then we shared a whole bar of green and black's butterscotch chocolate. Delicious!

Rimbaud Shoe Shine

2010-02-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

I was listening to this podcast and appropriately walked past this restaurant. Other news, I adore stacked compositions these days.

ERs

2010-01-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

Me and some of the royal warrants on my food.

I LOVE SUGAR

2010-01-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, I'm knackered (or is that gnackered?). Anyway, I've been working the past 8 days straight and have another 7 or so more. Fashion, in case you are wondering, does not weekend. On the way home from picking up some patterns and samples from a manufacturer in zone 23 this afternoon, I stopped at Lidl and picked up some no name Wine Gums. As you know, I am from the usa, and we don't have wine gums, so these are a special treat for me. I was savouring them on the bus with my husband and pack mule (he was doing the heavy lifting) and thought how nice of them to label each flavor. How much like chablis this gummy tastes like, and 'oh i do love a nice port' and what not. Now that I'm digging into the bag again after dinner I've decided to research these amazing treats. Here is the wikipedia entry. It was purely the power of suggestion on my tired mind! There is no booze in wine gums! This research lead me to another interesting wikipedia listing of note: British Confectionery! Check out the various entries.

Bechamel: my ode to hibernation mode

2010-01-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

Alas no photo for you, dear reader, of either the snow or of our bechamel + cheddar and leeks coated ravioli and broccoli. On days like today, when my toes are nearly frost bitten all day, sometimes I just want to pop some store bought (£1! package for 2 raviolis) in a pot of boiling water with some broccoli, cook, sauce, bake and eat. And that is exactly what I did. May I suggest it?

Whoa! Stop the Presses and sign the petition!

2010-01-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

You should sign this petition because the building currently existing here is lovely, and the one they are proposing really isn't (see image above). Image from here.

The Southern Hemisphere is so Hot right now!

2010-01-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

So, dear reader, I spend a lot of time reading other blogs, walking the mean streets of Hackney, and disparaging as much as possible. There seems to be lots of attention being paid to the graphic designs inspired by African and Latin American textiles-- in particular I've noticed the jagged, repetitive lines, geometrical shapes filled with gradated colours, compositions that seem stacked rather than grid based. Newspapers talk about African inspired fashion while blogs like Mr.Mort and Indian Summer Vintage and vintage stores seem to respond more to Latin American or traditional Southwestern iconography. Maybe it is a proximity thing for the blogs, American bloggers are more likely to see things or be nostalgic for an imagined imagery that is geographically closer (and Swedish vintage stores in London are more likely to be sourcing their stock from New England or Canada) while here in the UK, particularly in this neck of London, we are more likely to see African stuff (I pass how many wax cloth shops and money transfer shops to Nigeria on my 30 minute walk to work? 15?). Or just African inspired fashion is yesterday's news and Latin American will end up SS2011? I'm sure that, to some degree or another, you can read a bit of colonialism or post colonialism into all of this. But I have a sweet little Godard dvd to finish watching right now, but if threadbared (my new favourite smarty pants fashion blog) were to write about it, I'd prolly agree with whatever they post.

Reimporting Export Strength Gin: A Taste Off

2010-01-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

To know me is to know my love of the "off." Be it bug spray, or better yet, the cook off, dance off, sing off, etc. So this holiday, we decided to test 2 diet tonic waters. Personally, I drink gin and tonics not because they taste like delicious turpentine but because of their medicinal qualities, particularly their anti malarial and anti scurvy ones. If you saw the size of the mosquitoes that breed in my work's loo, you'd get your doctor to prescribe g&ts, too. I digress. So, we tried both the Posh Tonic Water Sainsburys and their Basics brand. What did our intrepid guinea pigs have to say? It was easy to id the posh tonic water as it had a much more pleasant aftertaste, but it certainly wasn't worth the £.35/100mL price difference.

Market Report: HAPPY EASTER!

2010-01-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

Where was I this holiday season, you ask? The answer is depressing: sick in bed or at work. The week before Xmas, the week of The Mister's Bday, I was suffering from horrific food poisoning. Projectile vomit was involved, alas. I believe it is libel to suggest where these things happen without it being scientifically proven (and perhaps, alas, even then) so I won't. Then, I was in bed with a cold all of xmas! It was t otally, heavens to Betsy particularly as one of my cold remedies may or may not have induced hallucinations! After xmas I returned to work, as there are pressing deadlines that cannot not be met. Yesterday, in my copious free time we hit up our local grocery store looking for discounts on xmas puddings laced with brandy and realized it was time to get ready for Easter!

Notes from Outer Zone 2

2009-12-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

I spend a fair amount of time on industrial estates in London hunting down suppliers and manufacturers or just nagging them. It is an odd, but magical world. I took this picture for my sister, because I think she could work at 3, 4a, or 4b and be very happy.

Book Reviews on How to Write a Book Books

2009-12-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader, to know me is to know I am hard at work -- in my ever decreasing free time-- on my novel. In addition to actually writing, I do a certain amount of research. Some of this research includes reading all of the books on writing/publishing/etc in the Stoke Newington Library. Some of this research is also me spending a certain amount of time figuring out which Lanvin look would be best for my book launch. But, as the mother of this blogger says, "you can't count your eggs before they hatch." So, in the meantime, I will give you some reviews of these various how to write books. A brand new Food, Shelter, Clothing feature! The first one is Beginning Writer's Answer Book which was edited by Jane Friedman. In case you are wondering, those eyes belong to the cover of The Mistress's Daughter by A.M.Homes, a far better book than the book resting upon it or my own book. But Beginning Writer's Answer Book is an vaguely useful read. It is basically a list of questions and answers.

Some are ridiculous:
Q. Are stationary and business cards necessary for a writer?
Q. Should I read the classics or contemporary writing?
Q. An editor rejected me by writing, "Read the magazine!" Isn't this rather insulting?

Some were questions I was wondering myself:
Q. I have a novel in the works, but it is months away from completion. When should I send query letters to publishers?
Q. I would like to adopt the pen name of George Orwell. Will I need permission from his heirs?
Q. How can a full-time freelancer provide for retirement?

Personally and selfishly, I wish this book was geared just to novelists, like moi, instead of including poets, nonfiction, short story, and magazine writers. Some of it seems like the reader may never have taken a literature course, but I'm sure some great writers never have (ie. Chaucer). Also, I'm very interested in UK and US publishing and how those work logistically as an American residing in the UK. Also, I was dismayed to read that this author suggests finishing your first book before getting an agent. Annoying, but probably wise. Oh well, xmas is coming and that is like 10 straight days of writing, aside from the slothing and working at work.

Whoa, an interesting new blog

2009-12-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

So Dear Reader, I am trying to expand my horizons. And I'm not talking about eating poultry (for some reason pate doesn't freak me out the way all other poultry preparations do). This new fascinating blog called threadbared discovery on my part (thanks Jezebel!) has some very interesting articles that I plan on reading one day when I'm not swamped with my own worries of samples arriving on time.

Yahoo = Hoo Ha!

2009-12-15T06:52:00.000-08:00

Years ago I lived in this idyllic house for 2 years. One of my rooms in this house was the very same room that the founder of Yahoo! used to live in (one of those guys or maybe just netscape). Anyway, I, like most people, have long since stopped using Yahoo about 10 years ago. But my dear Hackney Freecycle insists on using this dinosaur system. Kills me! Ugh!

Every once and awhile, I wish we lived in LA

2009-12-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

Not only would it take this dear writer back to her native state, but there would be sunshine and we would have gone here.

It is so cold and dark and windy and bone chillingly damp in London. Luckily, I have a German mother in law and a German grandmother in law. These two wise women are knit extraordinare and have made me these exquisite striped wool socks. See how they fit my feet PERFECTLY. So, we are wearing our wool socks, and eating auflaufs to get through the cold, dark winter while dreaming of Deauville.

Here, when I say I'm from "Jersey," they sometimes think I mean the tax haven...

2009-12-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

When I was 15 I thought I was pretty cool cause I already knew all of all of this. I was glad that they brought up Adams of suburban NJ, because I have been thinking of my old town's Adams Shopping Center recently. Not for Adams or it's equally sad WASPy sister store Madam's, but for the cupcakes available in the bakery in this shopping center. They were buttercreme concoctions of magicalness unseen in this cupcake boom. They were decorated like cookie monster, like this one.

Gluttony!

2009-12-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

Usually, I am very smug at the checkout with my whole grains. But today's shopping was blessedly silly.

Dear Reader, I married him

2009-12-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

While googling myself today, I found my old blog. And this charming posting about when I first met The Mister. I think his height is more like 6 foot 3, or whatever 190cm is in inches. You, dear reader, can do the maths.

Haneke vs. Hackney Gazette?

2009-12-09T12:35:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

Last night we watched Michael Haneke's White Ribbon. A bewildering tour de force, but we expected no less from Mr. Funny Games. Normally, films like that keep the mind reeling for days. But it is hard, when your thinking on the walk from the bus stop to work is interrupted with this headline. This mind is boggled!

Amish Pie Tote; I need this right now!

2009-12-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

An aunty sent me a link to this blog. Yowzers, dear reader, yowzers.

Itchy and Scratchy

2009-12-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been suffering from nights where I can't sleep because my skin is on fire. It is awful.

Santa Hat, Deerstalker Hat, Thinking Hat

2009-12-07T04:54:00.000-08:00

So, dear reader, I'm hard at work on my murder mystery. Alas, more of my time goes towards thinking what to wear to my book launch than to writing. But I do quite a lot of research. In addition to exploring my settings, I've read nearly all of the books on how to write a novel, murder mystery, get published, pick what to wear at your book launch at the Stoke Newington Library. But I have not yet read this one, yet.

Hey, if you want to buy the hat above. Some very lovely gents make it.

no poor people!

2009-12-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

I think taxidermy is pretty passe these days along with all of that neo victoriana hoo haa. It is just so tedious and odious, and just one more thing you have to dust. But I do like the sign on this door of a taxidermy shop in the 'hood.

Return From the Homeland! (And what I forgot to buy in the homeland)

2009-12-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

While you were doing other things in 7th grade, I was perfecting my caramel recipe. But I left my candy thermometer at home.

Cornmeal treated with lime. The paucity of mexican food in the this country has turned us into a family of tortilla makers. However, we forgot to bring the bag of masa we bought in nj. However, I may have found a latin american grocery store on route to one of my manufacturers.

Aveeno. Here in England, everything is nice and cold. So you need a heavy duty moisturizer. Alas duane reade in princeton was all sold out of this stuff, so I bought the regular strength.

Bad, GorBro, Bad.

2009-11-12T07:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifClick here for bad news bears. Usually, I am a fervent defender GorBro in the face of DavCam, but this is HOO HAA.

Walter Benjamin on Cupcakes...

2009-10-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

I took this pic from Vasco's iphone yesterday.

And then we returned to our discussion of which film is scarier: Funny Games (V. 1.0) or Lost Highway.

News Flash: Kittens soon to be turned into throw pillows and placemats!

2009-10-16T03:19:00.000-07:00

Good kittens.

Bad kittens.

All soon to be turned into household accessories.

TEEN GETS HAND MANGLED IN MINGER

2009-10-16T03:16:00.000-07:00

or maybe just a mincer. That isn't funny.

HOLY SMOKES! EGGSTRODINARY

2009-10-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, dear reader, I didn't eat eggs that were eggy (exception, cheese or lemon souffle, of course) until about 2 years ago. My mother's cholesterol fears hooo haa of the 80s and 90s or perhaps memories of my one dear pet chicken, Squeaky, stuck with me until one day there were some ramps and asparagus at the Union Square farmer's market. I made an omelet with roasted asparagus, ramps and parmesan. I've slowly increased my egg rep so it now includes frittatas, quiche, koo koo, fried eggs and poached eggs. There is room to grow; boiled eggs have not yet convinced me. Anyway, now we get our eggs from Stocks Farm through Growing Communities, both at our veg box pick up and at their Stoke Newington Farmers Market. Once you've had these eggs, you'll be eating eggs round the clock. These eggs are pure goodness; I'm sure that the only cholesterol they have is the good one. Didn't Michael Pollan write something about happy, healthy eggs being ok? Hungover, these eggs fried with some bacon and ketchup are positively medicinal. Anyway, we get about 12 eggs a week from these guys. So, we were making dinner. The mister cracked one egg. Then he cracked another. This second egg was EGGSTRODINARY!! NOT ONE YOLK, NOT TWO YOLKS, BUT THREE YOLKS. Look at the pick below. Count the yolks! Count the shells!

Fat Cats, Very good books, and Margaret Howell HQ

2009-10-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood cat just can't get enough!

When I filmed this, I had had enough to drink. Perhaps slightly more than enough at the book party in honor of Cally Blackman's 100 Years of Menswear . It was a lovely soiree at Margaret Howell HQ, which is probably the single best place on earth. Or at least in this country. But I digress. The book is so much better than most fashion books. It is a fabulous collection of images and traces changes in visual culture through menswear. Also, on a pragmatic level, you won't bust the spine on it like I did on that Richard Martin and Harold Koda
Jocks and Nerds: Men's Style in the Twentieth Century. Quick note to Santa: I have already ordered it. Please buy me a new computer instead.
I recommend buying yourself this book:

And buying me this lovely 17 inch Mac Book Pro:

Only Chanel can top the ice cream cup cakes

2009-10-06T13:38:00.001-07:00

I've nearly run out of ice cream cupcakes. We will share the last one tonight while finishing Edvard Munch. It has taken us 3 nights of viewing. The fashion is sublime.

More sublime and magical and ridiculous is the SS10 Chanel collection. I've been trying to steal pics to post. But alas it isn't working. So click through here, details as well:
Here!

Back to Munch and the last cupcake.

Oh yes. ICE CREAM CUPCAKES! MINT CHIP ICE CREAM CUPCAKES!

2009-10-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

One only turns the age I turned recently once. And this is how I wanted to celebrate:
Rarely does my mental image of my cooking match the actual results. This how they ended up:

Delicious. I use the chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting recipes from this CUPCAKE BLOG. I froze 'pellets' of ice cream in my idli tray, assembled and returned to the freezer.

Din, Din, Dins

2009-10-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

The veg box yielded eggplant (aubergines) and cavolo nero. The mister and I made rice while at the gym, and started a daal beforehand.

1/2 -1 red onion, cut lengthwise in strips
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 eggplant, diced to inch size pieces
couple cavolo nero leaves, shredded
veg oil to coat bottom of wok
cayenne pepper
ketchup
salt

Steam the eggplant/aubergine until knife tender, then drain.
Heat veg oil in wok over medium high heat, add onions once oil is hot. Stir fry. Once translucent, add cavolo nero leaves and garlic, and a few spoons of water. Continue stir frying until leaves are nice and wilted. Add eggplant, stir fry. Add cayenne pepper and salt to taste and a good dollop of ketchup. Stir fry and serve with rice, daal, and homemade mango lassis.Delicious. We turned the leftovers into a soup.

Lahmacun vs. Jil Sander

2009-10-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

There was only one queue to wait on today. And alas, at lunchtime, even Jil Sander at Uniqlo doesn't trump my hunger. Does that make me a bad person?

Amen!

2009-09-29T02:52:00.000-07:00

Excellent! I have always hated Passing Clouds in Dalston. We nearly went to a night there but they wanted to charge 5 quid 'for the experience' as patchouli wafted towards me. I hate patchouli. I don't know about you, but 'the experience' doesn't cut it. So stupid. We ended up going to The Haggerston, an excellent pub, and spent our 5 quid there. I spend 5 quid there pretty often. Anyway, Passing Clouds seems to have made some more enemies! Excellent!

The only thing worse than fashion week is Stansted.

2009-09-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

Fashion week is like the traveling. Too much hurrying up to wait, queuing, getting tickets checked, etc. The only thing worse that it is Stansted. Last time we flew from there, a family (mother and daughter in a cheap pink, father and son in cheap blue) were ahead of us in the queue. They seemed innocuous enough, despite the 45 minute queue to check baggage at 5am, until 3 minutes from the front of the line. The awful adolescent daughter started whimpering how she didnt feel well. Her mum was all 'we're nearly at the front of the queue.' THEN, this dreadful girl puked all over herself and her pink tracksuit. We nearly died. It was even worse when the mother took all of her used tissues and PUT THEM BACK IN HER LUGGAGE.

The Lion, The Witch and Their Wardrobe!

2009-09-17T06:02:00.001-07:00

Our shoes, our wardrobe.

More Meat...

2009-09-14T01:41:00.000-07:00

As you know, dear reader, I love polka dots. So I'm sure you understand I have opinions on the new Thom Brown collection. But I'm not sure what they are yet. In the mean time, a pic from my walk home from work.

Meat I'd like to meet and then eat.

2009-09-09T08:30:00.001-07:00

This was in Bath. Alas, I didn't get to try any.

Shelter

2009-09-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

We have found a new flat. We are moving on Monday. We will be decorating it with this:

Did I mention it is hooked or needlepoint? The Mister doesn't yet know.

Storms = Hot Chocolate

2009-08-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

The pressure is dropping (or rising?) and the regular wind has turned gusty and the clouds are extraordinarily ominous. Which means I am thinking about one thing and one thing only... hot chocolate.

We had this cup with churros in Madrid several months ago. I can't remember where the restaurant/churro house/cafeteria was located. It had a gorgeous metal interior like a submarine. We had to catch our plane soon after eating these.

Nice Colored Heavy Industrial Stuff Nearly Matching Shoes

2009-08-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yowzers!

2009-08-24T04:15:00.001-07:00

Guess I'll go eat worms

2009-08-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

From Whitstable.

postal

2009-08-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Nice BBQ at Anchor and Hope

2009-08-02T14:47:00.000-07:00

We are very fond of this pub, The Anchor and Hope, by our canal. Today after the blackberry harvest (more on that soon) we stopped by to have a pint and sit canal side. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they have a bbq operation up and running on sunny weekends. Christoph had a lovely stilton and leek sausage in a roll and I had the cumberland in a roll. Then some lady jumped into the canal and went for a swim. Personally, I don't think swimming in the dirty canal is very appealing, but to each their own.

Whitstable

2009-07-30T08:02:00.001-07:00

uber wanderfahrenlust

2009-07-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Suspected swine flu stymied Spanish holiday plans. So, instead we headed to Germany for our road trip, or as I like to call it: uber wanderfahrenlust.

We will fly to Frankfurt, spend some time in the heimat, and proceed to Weisbaden, and Berlin. With as much wild boar sausage as this girl can find.

MSG

2009-06-30T05:25:00.000-07:00

25KG of MSG. We didn't buy it.

Warmth

2009-06-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

How I survived Kidney Infection 3.0.

Clapton Cashmere

2009-06-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

Image from here. So it looks like my plan of raising cashmere goats might be easier than I expected.

Seeking: Needle Point Loafer Kit

2009-05-20T05:40:00.000-07:00

I want to make my own. Not with owls but with something else. Where can I buy a kit to do this?

Demain! Je vais aller au Avignon. En avignon?

2009-04-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

I can smell a crime a mile away...

2009-04-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/content/hackney/gazette/news/story.aspx?brand=HKYGOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newshkyg&itemid=WeED07%20Apr%202009%2016%3A39%3A14%3A837

I told you so!

Hold that thought...

2008-05-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

So, the clever folks at Homerton Hospital's respiratory clinic have not yet actually decide if I have TB or not. Public health, in theory, is a good thing. Let me tell you, it is a pain in the neck to be at the receiving end of it. I spent 2 hours on Thursday trying to get the conclusive "purple box" blood test. Hypothetically, if I do have TB, I can't even go to the fancy Swiss rest homes (where I could work on my German while reclining) as the Home Office still has my passport.

update

2008-05-03T03:36:00.000-07:00

I don't have tb. I've known this for months, but have been to lazy to update it. apparently, I live in a council with a high tb rate. Not because of the immigrants- we immigrants are tested and treated if need be- but because of our friends who visit us and bring their rotten tb germs.

my arm has tuburculosis

2008-03-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hackney is a TB zone. Please see image of Mantoux test from wikipedia and then my own welt.

Lets hope my lungs don't have it too!

ugh, the pain of immigration

2008-02-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

So, dear reader. I am an immigrant. Usually, it is ok, seeing as I speak the same language and was educated here, but sometimes I really feel it. Particularly when I'm carrying lots and lots. Once, I was walking over one of those sad pedestrian foot bridges over a very busy overpass separating one sad neighborhood from an even sadder one- the kind at the end of Lilya 4-ever- carrying a plastic bag that was very heavy and I felt, this is my immigrant experience. Christoph, also an immigrant, thinks I'm belittling REAL immigrants when I complain. I don't mean to.

Gremolata, schmemolata? Gremolata!

2008-01-28T03:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

The first time I knowingly had gremolata was at Chez Panisse for my college (university for my UK readers) graduation luncheon. I had some sort of thin crust ham and cheese calzone with gremolata on top. I had to ask what it was and was sorta annoyed when I found out it was just minced garlic, lemon zest, and parsley. Fast forward many years to a kitchen with a glut of polenta and clementines. One evening on a whim I minced together chili pepper, fennel seeds, clementine zest (carefully remove the pith from the zest; this is NOT easier after a class and half of mulled wine), parsley, cilantro (coriander for my UK readers), and some salt. Scrumptious! Now this mixture is added to practically everything served in this house. Polenta fries, salad, salmon marinade and garnish, roasted butternut squash and white bean salad, pasta. You get the idea.

half skinned gorilla ice skating! A vision in tattered tulle!

2008-01-28T02:55:00.000-08:00

Dear reader,

So, on Saturday I was at the gym and luckily some European Ice Dancing Free Dancing Championships live from Zagreb were on the telly. Most of it was very nice, of course. But one number was so so very magical I nearly died on the elliptical trainer. Yes, the enchanting dance of the half skinned gorilla and his witch bride was exceptional. After a morning of research, I am giddy to bring you this very special presentation!

Aha! Suspicions confirmed by wikipedia!

2008-01-28T02:51:00.000-08:00

Confirmed by wikipedia:

Some health workers fear that a resurgence of goitre might occur because of the trend to use rock salt and/or sea salt, which has not been fortified with iodine.

Can you imagine a near future with hundreds of foodies with goitres. Ewww!

I want iodized sel de mer!

2008-01-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

Do you know what upsets me? Non-iodized salt. Switching to iodized is such a simple way to improve your thyroid health. Unfortunately, the only iodized salt available is usually that really cheap table stuff, and not the nice flaky sel de mer that gives that lovely salty flavor crunch. Hrumph.

Neither here nor there...

2008-01-23T01:55:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I'm a traitor to my industry and the cities I live in, but I don't think Europe or NY is where it is for menswear these days. Check out these Junya Watanabe looks. Cozy and exciting.
From men.style.com

Modernism Makes Me Hungry

2008-01-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

Omg, dear reader. Guess what will be launched shortly. Yes, you guessed right! My very own cottage industry. Soon you will be able to buy my creations right here.

help, im drowning in polenta

2008-01-22T04:50:00.001-08:00

Ok, I'm no longer drowning in polenta. In fact, Xoph and I have crawled out of the polenta flooding pretty much unscathed. By far the best thing to do with left over polenta is to slice it into french fries, and roast them with olive oil, salt and pepper in a hot oven (200Cish) until all crispy. Then toss the fries with minced parsley, garlic, more salt and pepper and a tiny bit of finely grated Parmesan. Eat at once.

Whoa, dear reader

2008-01-21T01:41:00.000-08:00

Just when you totally forgot about this blog, I've decided to bring it back! Much has happened in the past 6 months. I got married, quit my job and moved back to London with my husband. It is 10am in London which means it is time for Radio 4's Women's Hour! My favorite. It looks like today there will be a segment about polygamy! My favorite!

What else to expect this week:
-gremolata, schmemolata, gremolata!
-milan/paris mens shows
-scientific flow chart guide to immigration
-10 trillion things to do with left over polenta in a land without canned black beans

Modernism Makes Me Hungry...

2007-07-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

Apologies for the silence. Things are very crazy what with my fitness kick, all of the books at the New York Public Library which demand my attention, etc. But I will take this moment to announce a new big plan. Yes, Christoph and I have a little transatlantic cottage industry going on and soon you will be able to view and buy our scrumptious designs, which will in turn finance our wedding celebrations which in turn you will prolly be invited to.

ATTACKED BY ZOMBIE IN PARK SLOPE

2007-07-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

So, dear reader, you probably think of park slope like that recent .NYtimes article and as the land that has FARM. But, it also has a seedy side. Last week, when I was biking home from the coop, trying to make it before the downpour, I was attacked by a real life ZOMBIE. There I was, patiently waiting for the light to turn, and this Vicki Pollard-esque teenager on a fitness walk came up to me with blank blank zombie eyes and held onto my arm! She didn't say a thing. Luckily, the light changed and I pried her Zombie hands off of my arm, saying,"Ok, gotta go." Quelle cauchemar!

Toaster Oven? I say Most-er Oven!

2007-07-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

As a person who does international moves to and from places with diffent voltages and plugs with alarming frequency I have very few electrical kitchen devices. But let me tell you about this rare and ingenius device that is a miracle worker on a hot day: yes the humble toaster oven! The high points of my culinary history have all been toaster oven concoctions- from my earliest experiments with mixing butter and sugar together (mmm!) and spreading the resulting caloric spread on toast and baking it until it caramelizes to the raisin bread with cheddar cheese melt (!!!) to my latest achievment: toasted veggies. Instead of cranking up the oven to a ridiculous temperature to roast my veggies (usually for an omelet or to toss with my farro pasta) I simply arrange the vegetables cut to pinky finger thickness, toss with salt, pepper and olive oil and toast twice. Amazing. But this story is a bitter sweet story. Toaster ovens are unavailable in the UK. Not even at John Lewis! the sadness! and they are a rare beast in France.

Pesticide: Not for Wusses

2007-07-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

Dear reader,

Usually, I am all for organic stuff, but I draw the line very clearly with mosquitos. I am so totally not organic, but am actively conventional. There is a point at which public health concerns far outweigh any antipesticide wussiness. DEET! I'd rather bathe in the stuff than risk malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever, epidemic polyarthritis, Rift Valley fever, Ross River Fever, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile virus(WNV), Japanese encephalitis, LaCross encephalitis, etc.

Air Conditioning is for wimps

2007-06-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

Dear reader,

It is summer in NY. This means it is gross. It also means I'm even more swaddled in wool and cashmere than in the winter. This is because of air conditioning. I hate A/C most of the time and think it is only needed a few days out of the year. Ugh. It is killing me. A quick google search suggests that it will also kill your future children, as those chloroflurocarbons will knock out the ozone layer and more people will get skin cancer.

Fruits and Vegetables

2007-06-28T13:18:00.001-07:00

So, dear reader, my computer is kaput! It, an Apple, is on its death bed as we speak. I would say it is basically a vegetable. Curses!

A new food challenge

2007-06-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

So, dear reader, the $28/week food diet has crumbled. It interferes too much with my social life. If I were a recluse then sure it would be super easy. But I have a new food challenge! One that allows me to go to the market and buy fresh fruits and veggies. The 9 servings of fruit or vegetables a day eating plan. It is so much more fun.

Pajamas: 21st Century Fashion

2007-06-28T12:55:00.001-07:00

(Prada Spring 2008 from men.style.com)

So, dear reader, if you've ever read a 20th century fashion book there was probably somewhere between a page and a chapter devoted to lingerie's influence on 20th century fashion (there was probably also a picture of Elizabeth Hurley in that Versace safety pin dress, unless they used that image in the "punk chapter"). Anyway, lingerie detailing is no longer transgressive. But pajamas as discussed in a previous posting are a whole new beast! Nothing says "hrumph and bah humbug" like pajamas. Will nightshirts be next? Paris men week is around the corner!

(Prada Spring 2008 from men.style.com)

Nightgowns: all day! everyday!

2007-06-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

I love pajamas. I think sweatpants are the greatest invention ever, after cheese and cashmere. One day, I plan on being that successful eccentric that wears cashmere sweaters and sweatpants to work and listens to Radio 4 all day long, kind of like the creative anachronists at IBM in the olden days. Recently, I was listening to my Radio 4 Women's Hour podcast about these women that wear pajamas to pick up their kids from school. (I'll add a link once I'm no longer at a computer that blocks such dangerous sites) Genius, albeit sloppy! So, what I'm doing is wearing glorified nightgowns to work, with some cashmere cardigans.

Soon, I'm going to write about the dress and how I don't think it gets enough credit. But that post will require some thinking.

Consoling Consulates

2007-06-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

As you no doubt know, I've spent a large chunk of my adult life as an expat. This means I've had all kinds of fascinating visa related experiences and anecdotes. Americans, studying abroad, in France must prove they have health care while Americans, studying in the UK, must prove their prior academic experiences. Most of my dealings with consulates and what not have been a headache at the very least. You try navigating these automated phone systems. But, the German Consulate in NY is the very model of the exception of these things. Not only was it easy to get connected with a real live operator, but this operator connected me to a real person's voice mail. This consular official called me back 5 minutes later! And he was charming and helpful, and once I get my paperwork, I get to stand the the line for "citizens"!

The Frugal Bride

2007-06-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Dear reader, you probably already know that I am getting married to my überdreamy fiance. Weddings and marriage are a wonderful distillation of my favorite things: food, shelter, and clothing. However, as Christoph and I are in the depths of poverty, I am trying do this as much frugality and sensibility as possible. I'm trying to channel the kind of wedding that is only found in young adult literature, like Laura Ingalls when she married Alfonso Wilder wearing her best black cashmere dress or Betsy from Betsy, Tacy, & Tib or Anne of Green Gables. So, with farm girl pluck let me share some of my hints:

1. My dress cost $40. It is the second dress I bought, but that one cost $100. So, I'm still 1/10th or 1/100th of what plenty of wedding dresses cost.
2. My shoes. I intend to spend an obscene amount of money (a paycheck) on a pair of shoes. These shoes are going to be exceptionally lovely and I will only buy a pair I can also wear with jeans to work.
3. Our honeymoon will be short and in Prague. We will be staying at this place; if you scroll down that front page you will see they make omelets all day long!

How bored are you?

2007-06-19T10:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, dear reader, I have a lot of free time at work. And to cope with this problem, I have invented a super fun game:
1. Go to wikipedia
2. Click the "Random page" link on the left.
3. Use internal wikipedia links to navigate you to the wikipedia article on "scientology"
4. repeat until it is time to go home

Stop the presses! Absolutely not the sorrel loser!

2007-06-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Dear reader, I was very wrong. I did not buy sorrel, but rather something called "tetragonia." This stuff, also called New Zealand Spinach, is actually super healthy! According to wikipedia, Cap't Cook noticed it and made his crew eat it to prevent scurvy.

This sorrel loser

2007-06-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

1. The $28 a week food challenge crumbled 36 hours into it. I was so good until I dragged Annie into Farm. I was exhausted and it was rainy. What is the answer? Wine and a scrumptious bacon, cheddar and tomato sandwich with fries and fresh herb mayo. Scrumptious, but certainly not within the budget unless I refrain from buying food all week. Hmmm.

2. I am the sorrel loser. So, there is this herb called Sorrel and for some reason I buy it in copious quantities. Which is not only expensive but actually DANGEROUS. Sorrel apparently contains a large quantity of oxalic acid which is toxic (according to the Joy of Cooking). So the question remains, what do I do with this vaguely delicious vaguely poisonous plant?

$28/week food challenge

2007-06-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I know it is totally played out and I'm way behind the bandwagon, but I'm starting the $28/week food challenge tomorrow! I see it as a fun culinary challenge that will leave me rich and thin (the social consciousness angle is important too, but lets be honest, something that makes you richer and skinnier is much more interesting.) This means no more brunches, lunches, etc, no more unless I can work it into the budget. I'm not going to include alcohol because that is boring. Other people can cook for me. And when I have people over it will be out of the budget. What is already in my kitchen (the farro, the bonito flakes, etc) I can use with impunity or budgeting.

How I plan on making this work:
-I don't eat meat, so that makes it easy.
-I will do all of my shopping at the Co-op to maximize quality for my price.
-My breakfasts of oatmeal cooked with water and salt are already super cheap.
-I will make my own breads. I'm more than partial to the world's most amazing bread recipe.
-I will buy local and organic produce when possible.
-I will keep thinking about how much money I will save (for new clothing, plane tickets to weddings- my own and other's) and how much thinner I will be (for new clothes and making plane flights to weddings- my own and other's- more comfortable).

Xenophobes make me really angry!

2007-06-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Every morning, rain or shine, summer or winter, I walk past a line of women I assume are day workers. These women are queued up even in the bitterest of winter mornings. It looks miserable, and I can't imagine how tough their lives must be. So this morning there were 2 women holding signs saying "illegals go home" and video taping the women. I don't know if I've ever witnessed such cruelty. I have a plan, though.

Adventures in reading over people's shoulders: Erotic literature and Bowhunting magazine

2007-06-13T10:47:00.001-07:00

Dear Reader,

Rarely is there a morning that the A train doesn't whizz past my rinky-dink C train. The worst is when not one but 2 A trains in a row cut my train off, leaving us in the tunnel waiting. Often this feels like a much larger metaphor for all of the, perceived, injustice in my life. When I don't have a seat (tip of the injustice iceberg) it is worse. When I do have a seat, I can at least read my neighbors' reading material. Every week or so, somebody is reading something racy which is always good fun. But this morning, a man was eagerly reading and rereading his resubscription card to Bowhunting Magazine. He'd better not mess with my cashmere goats!

Food, Shelter & Clothing

2007-06-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog. I'm going to write about the above topics, of course, and some other things that strike my fancy like: kittens, epidemiology writing, and immigration law.

My dream

2007-06-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

I recently dreamt that Christoph and I decided to move away from our busy city lives and start a cashmere goat farm. It was like reading a very exciting article in Vogue. Christoph and I were rosy cheeked and lean from our labors with cute farm kittens and chicks were running at our feet and (human and goat) kids in our arms. We'd eat our meals, hello goat cheese!, in the farmhouse at the big wooden table. From the house, we could see our goats, swaddled to keep their hair clean, gamboling in the fields. The fibers would be harvested, spun into yarns, and dyed with herbs from the garden. Then in our surprisingly high tech work room, cardigans would be whipped up on our Stoll machines (These machines are basically knit printers. You input your design, and a sweater prints out. Amazing!) These cardigan were available at Barneys and Takashimaya. And then, we'd make sure the goats were butchered halal and their hides were turned into gloves, available at Dover Street Market. It would be this magical slow food/fashion existence.