Oliver and I recently lost a dear friend. And we expressed our condolences in the best way I know how — with baked goods.
Read all about it: Apricot and Pistachio Biscotti
Monday Musings: On childhood, book movies and gelato.
Happy Monday to you. I’m back with more random, wacky things on my mind.
Finally (finally!), spring weather seems to be breaking through. This weekend down south was only slightly cool but gloriously clear and sunny, which does loads for my mental and physical health. Don’t mind me while I go roll in the warm grass like Oliver does, reveling in spring. I just wish we didn’t go straight from freezing to sweating this year.
I finished reading Divergent, by Veronica Roth, this weekend. Have you had the pleasure? It’s great. Really creative and suspenseful, and I highly recommend it. It’s of the same genre and post-apocalyptic undertones as the Hunger Games series. And therein, I guess, lies the scary part. These books are for young adults — meaning pre-teens and teenagers, right?. Books about killing and war and sex, even. Hey, when I was 15 I was reading questionable things too. But more like romance smut from the vaults of Danielle Steele and Judith McNaught. Not dark, violent books about evil people who want to take over the world. I’m just sayin’.
Speaking of books, it’s starting to bother me when a popular book that everyone’s read becomes a movie. Think Gone Girl or Fifty Shades of Grey. It seems a waste to recreate a story that everyone already knows. To me, it destroys the magic, replacing all of the imaginative visions I created with Hollywood’s interpretation. And it becomes so much more about who’s going to be cast than about the words or the work. I prefer when an obscure book becomes a movie — think Perks of Being a Wallflower and Silver Linings Playbook. Then I can read the book to fill in details. But I suppose my definitions of “popular” or “obscure” are relative.
Mad Men season 6 premiered last night. I’ll tell you how it’s gone for me by the time you’re reading this. I watched it live, but also recorded on my DVR. I will spend all day today reading through the TV writers’ and fellow viewers’ analyses. Then I will watch the whole thing again tonight or later this week with fresh eyes. Because it’s visual literature, remember? I know, obsessed.
Have you tried Talenti gelato? You can probably find it in your supermarket. All I have to say is this. Salted Caramel gelato with chocolate-caramel truffles mixed in. I have no other words.
Have a good week, all.
Culinary Cousins: Vegetarian Moussaka
I’ve been on a cooking spree as of late, which accounts for two — yes, two! — posts this week from me on Culinary Cousins. Plus, Jessica and family were on vacation, so I had to keep the fires burning over there.
Even though I’ve been cheating on my vegetarianism with beef lately, I found a great recipe for vegetarian moussaka that satisfied my tummy and my insatiable need for Greek food.
Read all about it: Vegetarian Moussaka
Culinary Cousins: Chia Seed Pudding
Over on Culinary Cousins today, I’m talking up my new obsession.
Yes, chia seeds. You will tease me mercilessly forever, I know. You will call me things like “Chia Head” and sing that “Ch-ch-ch-ch-chia!” ditty over and over until I want to harm you.
But I’m okay with it, because chia seeds are delicious. Especially in pudding.
So, there.
Read all about it: Chia Seed Pudding
Monday Musings: On chia, grammar and globalization.
Good Monday to you. I’m back on schedule with some of the random, wacky things on my mind this week. Even though it’s April Fool’s Day (Happy Birthday, Prink!), this is not a joke, promise.
I do have some levity for you, though. About seven months ago, my cousin posted this picture on Pinterest. It’s supposed to be just a picture of a creepy house. But then. I have it saved in my Joy board, because every single time I see it I laugh uncontrollably for at least 10 minutes. Yes, 10 minutes. Even after seven months.
I have found a new obsession. It’s been awhile, but the familiar grip has taken over. I just can’t get enough of … chia seeds. Say what, now? But stay tuned over at Culinary Cousins, since I’ll be waxing philosophic about those soon. Like, maybe tomorrow.
I could write a whole book on my grammar pet peeves, but inappropriate use of apostrophes tops the list. You don’t make something plural by adding an apostrophe! I see it everywhere — like 1980’s instead of 1980s — but the one in the NY Times this week was the last straw. Apparently we “don’t have a history of dynasty’s in the U.S.” That sound you hear is my skin crawling.
I was eating a mango last week when something occurred to me. It’s sort of a miracle that I can drive to my local grocery store, buy a (pretty cheap) mango — a fruit native to South Asia — and eat it at home in North Carolina. It felt so special and exotic. Score one for globalization, I guess.
Have a good week, all.
Monday Musings: On Anglophilia and Fashion Week.
Good Monday to you. I’m getting this Monday Musings in at the eleventh hour, but here are some of the random, wacky things on my mind this week:
I just watched a terrific movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. When my mom raved about it a couple of months ago, I’d never heard of it. No idea why, since it is excellent. Even though it takes place in India, it fulfilled my every Anglophilic craving — primarily because it is chock full of the British greats from all your favorite movies. Think Judi Dench. Bill Nighy. Tom Wilkinson. Maggie Smith. In the same movie.
This weekend I went to Charleston with friends to send one of us off into the bonds of matrimony, and also to attend Charleston Fashion Week. I don’t consider myself especially fashionable, choosing comfort over suffering for the sake of art or beauty or whatever anytime. But it was a blast. As you know, Charleston’s a food city and we ate amazingly at 39 Rue de Jean and Poogan’s Porch. The show was flashy and glamorous and exciting. Plus, we met the Moonshine boys, who are young and cute and enthusiastic and smell like earthy, woodsy, clean gentlemen. Delicious. I hope they make a great success.
Someone might need to take away my New Yorker card. I subscribed this week to a magazine called Garden & Gun. I think that means my re-acclimation to the South is complete. Oh, and if you’re interested in picking favorites for a totally different kind of March Madness, go vote in their Southern Food Bracket. I don’t know what I’m going to do when Coke goes up against Cheerwine. Dilemma!
Have a good week, all.
Culinary Cousins: Banana Pudding Poke Cake
I’ve started baking over at Culinary Cousins. It’s a gateway. I may never stop.
Read all about it: Banana Pudding Poke Cake
Culinary Cousins: Mushroom Bolognese
I’ve just posted a new recipe over at Culinary Cousins.
I’m happy to report that I’m still living the vegetable-centric life, and it’s going pretty well. Recipes like this mushroom bolognese make it especially easy. It’s rib-sticking enough to satisfy but also pretty healthy. Plus, when I make it from scratch, I know exactly what I put into it.
Read all about it: Mushroom Bolognese
Monday Musings: On Springing forward, Nutellagate and Gatsby.
Good Monday to you. Here are some of the random, wacky things on my mind this week:
Whew. I missed last week’s Monday Musings, something I swore to myself I wouldn’t do. But I was getting our new blog, Culinary Cousins, off the ground. If you haven’t, come visit us over there. I’d love to know what you think.
The time change last weekend wasn’t as painful as others I remember, though I dread any moment that wrests precious sleep from my cold, tired, weary hands. But with added sunlight comes the prospect of warmer weather — it was even in the upper 70s this weekend in North Carolina! Nothing like turning on both your heat and your air conditioning in the same week.
Did you hear about Nutellagate at Columbia University? Those student hoarders are after my own heart. Nutella is just about the best thing ever invented, so I don’t blame them one bit.
When I was in high school, I hated English class. That may be surprising given my love of words and reading. Mostly I hated the way we had to analyze and dissect everything to death. It totally took the fun out of it. One book to fall victim to that was The Great Gatsby. How I hated that book, with a passion. I thought the characters were annoying, and I couldn’t relate at all. Plus, my teacher insisted everything had to mean something — those eyeglasses on the billboard were looking down on everyone, or whatever. Can’t they just be eyeglasses on a billboard? Can’t I just read it to enjoy the story? Sheesh. Well, I read Gatsby again for one of my book clubs in anticipation of the movie’s release in May. This time, I couldn’t put it down and was captivated, especially since I didn’t remember what happened. My, what changes with age and experience.
You know, I often stare at my rasceta. And sometimes I use a zarf. I try to avoid snollygosters whenever possible. I bet you do too.
Have a good week, all.
Deep in the heart of Texas.
You know when you talk about doing something for so long, and when it finally happens it feels surreal? That was our trip to San Antonio a couple of weekends ago. We’ve been saying for years that we wanted to go see family there. Finally, the timing and our motivation was in sync.
I’d never actually been to the “great state of Texas” before. (That’s how they say it. Not just “Texas,” but “the great state of Texas.”) I mean, I’d technically been to Dallas, well, Irving, a couple of times for work, but I saw the airport, the office, the hotel and the airport again. Maybe once I saw the tiny skyline of Dallas on the horizon. So I don’t think that counts.
We spent four jam-packed days, with plenty of touring and eating, but also great times with family. I wouldn’t call San Antonio a pretty city, except for downtown and the Riverwalk, but I am in love with the weather. It was mid-to-high 60s in the middle of a February winter. The skies were clear and the air was nearly humidity free. That’s weather this girl from the South basks in whenever I can get near it.
I think our trip also felt surreal because it’s an example of how you can travel to parts of the U.S. that feel familiar, but also like a totally different culture. I love that about our country. And even though Texas is considered southern in some circles, it is a very different thing. My first inkling that I wasn’t in Kansas, or North Carolina, anymore was how normal it is for women to wear cowboy hats while running errands. Those Texans live up to their hype as God-fearing, gun-toting, big-living, barbecue-eating yet fun-loving and friendly folk.
So, what do you do on a weekend in San Antonio? Here are a few ideas. Continue reading
South & Sundry 