Poinsettia balls @ Aventura Mall
December 3, 2011
Poinsettia balls @ Aventura Mall
December 2, 2011
My dachshund is such a redneck. One of his favorite recent activities is stealing the empty Mountain Dew bottles my DH accumulates and feverishly chewing on the cap until it comes off.
This may or may not have anything to do with the time I let him have the couple of leftover swallows he worked so hard for in a dish.
Needless to say, a monster is born.
December 1, 2011
The second memento from our recent New York City trip arrived today, and while it waits for the proper hangers to be hung in its final home, propped against the dresser with the Dachshund lamp and the massive orchid installation is as good a place as any to hang out.
This painting was done by Yvoni, whose booth at the Bryant Park Holiday Shops caught my eye as I was hurrying past during our last precious few hours in NYC. I saw Yvoni setting up her booth and this painting out of the corner of my eye, wandered over to take pictures of the carousel and had to double back to see if she had at least a business card and website so I could investigate further. Luckily she did. This isn’t the only piece of hers I loved – she has quite a few in the same calm, almost minimalist aesthetic and I had a tough time choosing. Ultimately I went with the one that made such an impact at first glance and I am glad to have such a great memento of the trip.
NYC trip photos Part 1 & Part 2.
A little about the artist (from her Facebook page):
Yvoni discovered her artistic talents at an early age, while growing up in Olsztyn, Poland. She continued creating art while she attained an undergraduate degree in Political Economics.
In 1995 she worked at the Polish Embassy’s Commercial Department in Greece. During this time, her love for creating art had gotten stronger. She began experimenting with new art forms – using innovative ways of making “fused” glass and even candles. Eventually, her artwork would become too consuming, and her true passion could not take a back seat any longer. So, in 1996 she quit her job at the Embassy and spent the next four years studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts.
After graduating in 2000 she was invited to show her work at several premier exhibits around Greece, and as a result was featured on national television.
Less than two years ago, acting on some advice from an American art dealer, she moved to New York City, taking up residency with her husband in Manhattan’s East Village.
She has since then been steadily developing an underground following among New Yorkers, international travelers as well as the occasional celebrity. During this short period her work has reached five continents, all American States, and recently the US Capitol building.
I might add that she and her husband also provide top notch customer service and her prices are very, very reasonable. For the price I did not expect a hand painted to order piece, especially not on stretched canvas, but was pleasantly surprised.
Check her out on Facebook, especially this piece. I’m already plotting where to put it.
Charcutepalooza Challenge # 11 – Salami – Epic. Charcuterie. Fail.
Charcutepalooza challenge #11 promised to be difficult. We were warned. Right there in the book, in black and white: this is not an easy sausage. This sausage is prone to fail. And, well, it wasn’t and it did. This was our first epic charcuterie fail, and that’s not too shabby of a track record. To be honest, I had no idea what I was going to do with 3 lb. of salami anyways.
So, what went wrong?
In all of the warnings about temperature and humidity extolled in the book, there were no warnings against links touching each other while hanging. In our clever little space-saving hanging setup (which turns out wasn’t so clever), the links ended up touching at the tops (and sometimes on the sides). Every spot one link touched another molded. Yellow mold, slightly fuzzy mold, and black mold. Needless to say, black mold = bad mold (as does fuzzy), so we pitched the whole kit & caboodle.
Try again?
Oh yes, we will be conquering this sausage. We have charcute pride at stake here.
November 30, 2011
Rich sweet and savory pear soup with bleu cheese and pancetta. Yum.
November 29, 2011
Quick pickled finger radishes.
November 28, 2011
Whole lotta color going on.
November 27, 2011
Where was this when I was a kid? Neville House mod dollhouse at CB2.
November 26, 2011
Coral Gables Scientology Center concrete flourish.
CSA Box 1 – A new beginning
Since breaking up with my organic buying club-style CSA early last summer, I’ve been patiently anxiously awaiting Florida’s high growing season and the start of a new, more local CSA.
the CSA I joined is Little River Market Garden, and since it’s within a 5 mile radius of where I live, I can’t get more local produce unless I was able to grow it myself (and since I can’t even keep Chia Pet alive I don’t think vegetable gardening is in my near future). Everything LRMG offers is grown in two small local plots and the garden operator (Hi Muriel!) goes to great lengths to really think about what comes in the shares – from a value, variety and learning opportunity standpoint, which is greatly appreciated by food nerds like me. She promised things I’d never heard of, and I’m happy to report that so far she’s right on track. This first box features two (possibly 3) new veggies to me, and I’ve had a great time finding ways to use them.
CSA Share 1
2 bunches red yardlong beans
1/2 lb. green bush beans
1 green papaya
1 ripe papaya
1 bunch roselle
1 bunch escarole (?)
1 bunch finger radishes with greens
1 huge patty pan squash
1 yellow & green zucchini
1 small bunch oregano
2 stalks lemongrass
2 black sapote
What I made with my share
Pizza with mozzarella, parmesan and fresh oregano
Tabasco & long bean quinoa with roselle
Open-faced ravioli with zucchini & possible escarole
Thai green papaya salad with green beans and lemongrass shrimp
I ate the sapote out of hand
I let the ripe papaya go too long, and it was gross when I tried to eat it. Not being a huge fan of ripe papaya anyways, I wasn’t but so upset.
The Best Thing I Made This Week
This week, 95% of the things I made ended up tasting flat and uninspired. I hate those weeks, but they happen. My favorite dish this week didn’t incorporate any CSA veggies. The Candy Bacon Brussels Sprouts with Mustard Vinaigrette I made for Thanksgiving dinner ended up being my favorite. Earthy, salty, sweet, tangy – this recipe hit the nail on the head on all notes.
Up next week:
I have the radishes, 1 bunch of long beans & the squash to work through still and I plan to make carnitas, serving the radishes pickled alongside with a bean & squash salad.
I also have another batch of veggies coming this weekend, so we shall see just how backed up I get.
New To Me Veggies
Roselle: According to Wikipedia, roselle is a species of hibiscus native to the Old World Tropics (which makes total sense to grow it here), often used in fiber production and for making infusions (particularly as a diuretic, mild laxative, treatment for cardiac and nerve diseases, and also for cancer treatment. It can also be used as a dye.
It is popular throughout Mexico and the Caribbean as a chicken flavoring and drink, the Indian Subcontinent in dals, and Southeast Asia in stir frys.
The taste is lemony and bright.
Red Yardlong Beans: aka Chinese Long Beans. Native to tropical/subtropical regions of Southeast Asia, these beans grow quickly and are very similar in taste to “regular” green beans, just much longer, and in our case a purplish red.
Black Sapote isn’t 100% new to me, but I haven’t had much luck with eating it in the past. Like most tropical fruit, it’s yum window is really only a day or two – before that and it’s hard and tasteless – after and it’s a nasty rotten mess. I’m not gonna lie: this fruit is kinda gross looking. When ripe, it’s almost mushy and the inside looks like sticky swamp mud. Sapote is also called the chocolate pudding fruit for its resemblance to the stuff and almost chocolatey taste. It is vaguely sweet with bare hints of spice notes. Not half bad, but definitely something to get used to.
Gastography 