I am most thankful to my friend Jason P., as it is through his blog that I found out about Joy Kampia’s delightful knit food dresses. The awesomeness is a bit overwhelming. I would absolutely dress as a hamburger or wear her fantastic donut necklace/scarf.
I’ve simply not had a moment to write about a benefit J. and I attended a few weeks ago. The fundraiser supporting the Alameda Free Library was generously hosted by several local restaurants and members of Slow Food Alameda (places like Kroll’s Pizza, Acquacotta and C’era Una Volta.) A delicious fest of organic veggies, roasted pizzas, tasty snacks and local wine was spread out over several tables outside the Auctions by the Bay building located at the Alameda Navy base. The day was extremely windy and cold, but the free food and wine certainly warmed us up a bit. (I should mention that we were able to attend the event due to the two tickets generously given to us by J.’s boss at the library). Read the rest of this entry »
I’m not going to go gaga over kiddies here. Plenty people think babies and little kids are all sorts of cute and funny. What absolutely tickles my heart about these photos is the delicate way the photographer captured the perfect atmosphere of playing dress-up and make belief. I’m almost 30 years old and I still revel in the moments where a playful outfit, a beautiful house, dust dancing in the sunbeams, can create for me a magic atmosphere that transcends the every day. I guess, I’m a kid at heart.
These two are my favorite, and there are a couple of more here at Kitty Kora’s set on Flickr.
A double dose of foodiste stop-motion animation, thanks to Youtube.
Culture clichés abound in this little history lesson, but I don’t even mind the beef Stroganoff. In fact, the entire enactment of wars in XX and XXI is kind of clever, gruesomely messy (like real war is), but also made me incredibly hungry after watching.
PES makes really clever stop-motion shorts and this one is full of magic. Enjoy!
Yesterday J. and I went to see The Mirror (Zerkalo) directed by Andrey Tarkovsky. I haven’t yet come up with the right words to talk about the film. It was at times intimately familiar, even though I’d never seen it before. Some of the most beautiful dream sequences I’ve ever seen are visualized in the film. It’s full of heartache, nostalgia, restlessness and urging poetry. I know I will have to see it again, because there are some things I am sure I didn’t catch, particularly since several actors play more than one role.
I love the sounds and the close ups that Tarkovsky created. The textures and the layered fragile details. I also really loved the interior scenes, and in particular the modern day apartment occupied by Aleksei.
Very interesting wall textures, long hallways, gilded mirrors and shelves upon shelves of books. It’s one of those apartments that probably becomes more embellished during our recollections, which is perfectly portrayed in the film. The same exaggerated beauty exists in his childhood home, the wood cottage nestled among the trees in a remote village.
I wonder if there is something in the national character of Russian people that leans towards the deeply textured, a little bit dilapidated homes that are pictured in the films? I am naturally drawn to these kinds of environments. In fact, my dream home would be the exact combination of the tall ceilings and textured walls of the city apartment, combined with the dark wood floors, flickering candles and open front porch of the house in the woods.
Note on the design: The production designer for the film, Nikolai Dvigubsky, doesn’t have a large body of work. Notably, he was the production designer for Konchalovsky’s “Uncle Vanya” and “Siberiade,” as well as the 1989 reimagining of the opera “Boris Godunov.” I’m going to bump up the Konchalovsky films on my list to see if Dvigubsky has a distinct style.
I’m starting to nest, more. Specifically, the urge too simmer and bake is getting hard to rein in. This evening, I made roasted garlic soup, root vegetable casserole, butternut squash in soy sauce & mirin with black sesame, whole wheat cous cous and a baby spinach salad with goat cheese. Two friends came over, people I haven’t seen in a long long while, and we chatted for several hours over a hearty meal. These are all variations on recipes found in thrift-store purchased cookbooks.
Roasted garlic soup
Easy as pie. Actually, easier THAN pie. I made it vegetarian. Simply used veggie broth (I cheated and used out of the box stuff, but you could make it from scratch). Roast a large head of garlic in the oven at about 400 degrees, for 40 minutes. I cut off the top of the garlic, drizzled it with a bit of olive oil and wrapped it in tin foil.
Squeeze out the garlic cloves and smoosh ‘em into mush. Mix them and stir them and smoosh them into your simmering veggie broth. Cover and let simmer on a low flame for 30 minutes, so that the broth becomes fully infused with the garlic essence, which is full of magic. Serve with croutons and spices to taste. It’s a light broth soup, with a subtle flavor, but gets the appetite going.
Butternut squash
Again, I took a shortcut and purchased too packages of pre-sliced & peeled squash. Mixed several tablespoons of soy sauce with a generous dose of Mirin. Brought it to high heat in a deep skillet & stirred in the squash. Covered, reduced heat to medium and let the squash simmer for about 20 minutes, or until just soft and slightly browned. Tossed with roasted black sesame seeds. Tada!
Root veggie casserole (this serves 4)
This really is as easy as it gets. The hardest part is peeling and chopping all the veggies. I used one extra large carrot, 3 red yams, 2 leeks, and about 6 shallots. Peeled and chopped all the veggies but shallots, which I peeled and kept intact. The vegetables should be chopped into medium sized chunks.
In a deep skillet or large saucepan, heat up slightly less than 1/4 cup of butter. Simmer the veggies until slightly browned, adding fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste. Stir in 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, and simmer some more, letting the vegetables caramelize a little. In a separate sauce pan, bring to a boil 1 cup of vegetable stock, 1 bay leaf and 3-4 sprigs of thyme. Pour the vegetables into a casserole dish and add 1 drained can of chickpeas. Mix in the vegetable stock with the herbs. Cover and cook in 300 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove cover and increase heat to 400, letting the vegetables stew for about 15 more minutes.
It could be a blessing. It could be a curse. However, it is, unquestionably, very exciting. Rei Kawakubo for Comme de Garcons is doing a special line of men’s & women’s clothing, accessories and fragrances for H&M. The line rolls out some time in November. I’m really loving the blazers and coats, while I could do without the pants.
This coming weekend, Fri-Sun, 9/26-28, head to the Mission for “A Taste of Greece.” Hosted by the parishioners of Annunciation Cathedral on Valencia, this 3 day Greek food festival features a smörgåsbord of delectables, as well as wine tasting, Greek dance music and a generally festive atmosphere. Flavorpill listing for details
The following weekend, it’s World Veg Festival at the County Fair building, educating visitors and celebrating the vegetarian lifestyle. Seems like a great opportunity to learn from knowledgeable sources about the best way to maintain a balanced and healthy diet. More info here.
… There are both The Walrus and the Carpenter (from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There), and William Shakespeare. The Marx Brothers peer around a corner. A flip-top garbage can is transformed via marker art into Star Wars’ plucky little beeper R2D2…
Burglar victims wake to spice rub, sausage attack
A burglar who broke into a home just east of Fresno rubbed food seasoning over the body of one of two men as they slept in their rooms and then used an 8-inch sausage to whack the other man on the face and head before running out of the house, Fresno County sheriff’s deputies said Saturday.
Lt. Ian Burrimond, describing the crime as one of the strangest he’s ever heard of, said a suspect was found hiding in a nearby field a few minutes later and taken into custody on suspicion of residential robbery.
Deputies, he said, had no problem linking the suspect to the crime.
“It seems the guy ran out of the house wearing only a T-shirt, boxer shorts and socks, leaving behind his wallet with his ID,” Burrimond said.
Arrested was Antonio Vasquez Jr., 21, of Fresno.
Burrimond said deputies headed to the victims’ home in the 300 block of South Thompson Avenue near Kings Canyon Road shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday regarding a burglary in progress.
The victims, both farmworkers, told deputies they were awakened by a stranger applying “Pappy’s Seasoning” to one of them and striking the other with a sausage.
Both the spices and the sausage, Burrimond said, reportedly were obtained from the victims’ kitchen.
After the man fled, the victims discovered the home had been ransacked and that some money was taken, Burrimond said.
Burrimond said the money was recovered, but that the piece of sausage used in the attack was discarded by the suspect and eaten by a dog.
“That’s right, the dog ate the weapon,” Burrimond said.
“I tell you, this was one weird case.”
Source: Fresno Bee