Sunday funday

Other things from this week... 2.28.14

I'll have one cabin, please.

Music Video of the Week:



Articles we loved:
Dance Marathon | This Recording I've Discovered the Internet's Most Internet Sentence, and Your an Idiot if You Disagree | New Republic How much my novel cost me | Medium Fifty Shades of Late Capitalism | The Baffler Life In Pictures: St. Vincent | Vulture Pre-Racial: Justice Clarence Thomas says blacks didn’t think about race in the 1950s South | Slate Chronicles of the Veil by Laila Lalami | Los Angeles Review of Books Spike Lee on gentrification | NYMag
Have a great weekend!!

WCW: Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler is one of those amazing people who gets more beautiful the more you listen to her. Parks and Recreation has become one of my favorite shows of all time! Check out her awesome website, Smart Girls at the Party, dedicated to life tips for young ladies. Even though it's meant for tweens and teens, I may or may not peruse the articles and learn new things.

MM: Sweet Potato, Chickpea, Spinach Curry

Today I have decided the best way through a pescatarian Lent will require a ton of spices. For real, I need to stock up and replace meat flavors with ~world spices~. Plenty of indian, ethiopian, and thai food coming up for me.

This dish was a perfect, slightly intermediate and nearly vegan pantry meal. Normally my pantry is ready to make some kind of simple weekday meal, but this time my resources are unusually abundant. I got my green grocer box (Note: if you're in the DMV, check it out-- it's so worth it!) for the first time this new year; and my $24 Trader Joe's haul supplied me with a ton of dried and canned goods. I wanted to get creative! That said, I still had to make a lot of substitutions and omissions. 

I didn't have harissa, or cardamom, or green chiles. Ground spices replaced some of their whole versions. Oh, and I also didn't have coconut milk. But this was my proudest moment! So I had a big carton of heavy cream, so I used that. BUT THEN I saw that you could add almond butter, and I had that! It was the perfect substitute-- it tastes different than coconut milk, but tasted delicious in it's own way. Coming in second place for best substitution is the Huy Fong Foods Chili Garlic Sauce for the harissa. My curry was super spicy and delicious! I was so proud I couldn't believe it, you guys. One day soon I will make another curry and hopefully I'll have all of the ingredients on hand. I will definitely attempt this recipe again! Try it here.

Juliana Romano

Visit her site.

via booooooom

Other things from this week... 2.21.2014

Song of the week:



I am in love with this song by Black City Lights. If you like it, check out the rest of their album on Bandcamp.

Articles we loved:

A letter from one dad to Michael Sam's dad: Learn to accept your gay son like I did | Outsports
Apocalypse, New Jersey: A Dispatch From America's Most Desperate Town | Rolling Stone
T-Pain Slams Homophobia in Hip-Hop and R&B for Six Straight Minutes | Gawker
Black Larry King (Isn't Any Of Those Things) | The Awl
Frank Gehry Is Still the World's Worst Living Architect | Gizmodo
Jasper Johns: ‘Regrets belong to everybody, don’t they?’ | FT Magazine

Note:

Since the Corcoran Gallery and College of Art is close to both Layla's and my hearts, I am sad to see it go. It has been in my life since high school, when I used to both browse the museum and attend portfolio days with my photos. However, I am excited about the free admission! Go forth and prosper in this new chapter, Corcoran. You can read about it here.

Woman Crush Wednesday: Lupita Nyong'o

“Step by Step, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, Full House—I watched a lot of sitcoms, as you can tell.”

Read her interview in NYMag.

Paul Octavious

 

MM: Black Bean Soup

Happy Presidents' Day! I hope you all are spending your day catching up on everything you've been putting off. My weekend was busier than expected, so I haven't gotten a chance to grocery shop. This black bean soup is perfect because I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand. Note: I am learning that "quick soaking" dried beans is not the best option. Though the flavors were totally on point, my beans were crunchy. Alas! It was like a black bean chili. Next time I'll use canned. Find the recipe here.

Gravity's Edge

Morris Louis, Delta Theta, 1961

Saturday was snowy and gray, thus the perfect day to spend in art museums after brunch. Contrasting the overcast sky, the Hirshhorn is currently showing a colorful exhibit titled "Gravity's Edge" that I highly recommend.* The focus of the exhibit lies in a form of abstract expressionism, known as color field painting. Some of the artists featured were Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Francis, and Morris Louis. This exhibit was fun, and discovering how fantastic it is to have a resource like WikiPaintings out there. Check out some color field paintings below!

* The other exhibit in the Hirshhorn, "Damage Control: Art and Destruction Since 1950", is really awesome and you should also check it out. It's running through the end of May.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is all I need today.

Everyone should stay in for Valentine's Day. I've realized I haven't been out for V-Day dinner with my boyfriend the entire time we've been dating. Staying in and cooking together is so much better than waiting for your table at an overbooked, overpriced restaurant. Make steak! Or lobster! Or risotto! Or get some oysters.

This year, we are making steak and lobster for dinner and getting a fantastic brunch at the Blue Duck Tavern in the morning. Fall in love over eggs, everyone.

If you need inspiration, check out this sexy fritatta or this sumptuous lobster salad, both from Luxirare. Now all you need is a movie and some wine.

xoxo

Snow, snow, snow, SNOW

Rooftops in the Snow (snow effect), 1878, Gustave Caillebotte

I mingle with my peers or no one, and since I have no peers, I mingle with no one.

New Orleans has always seemed like a weird, misty, haunted city to me, and ever since the slew of TV shows and movies (AHS: Coven, True Detective, Rampart) I have been increasingly interested in it. When I booked my flight, I really didn't know what to expect. All I had seen were apartments on Craigslist (I tend to daydream) and said TV shows.

The Inaugural (and Lazy) Meatless Monday

I am completely exhausted. This morning I woke up very early to fly back home from an amazing vacation in New Orleans. On top of that I decided to be Wonder Woman and go to work on time as well. I was surprisingly productive at work considering, so I'm a satisfied tired. 

After all vacations, I need to eat something simple because I go out to eat for every meal and sadly I don't order salads. It's all so delicious, but it's also just an unsustainable diet-- that's why it's vacation! Needless to say, I wanted a low-maintenance and (somewhat) healthy meal my first night at home.

New Orleans reminded me that Mardi Gras is right around the corner (March 4) and the Catholic in me remembers that Lent is also (March 5). I like the challenge of it, so this year I will be pescatarian for 40 days and 40 nights. When I first thought of vegetarian meals, my mind went to bread-based dinners, like pizza and pasta. Historically I have used Lent in a productive way-- almost always related to weight loss-- so eating a bunch of carb-based meals every night is not something I'm trying to do.

But I'm tired, you guys. So I made Kraft Mac & Cheese and classed it up with a simple arugula salad with my favorite dressing as of late. It has lemon, olive oil, dijon mustard, a clove of garlic, and salt & pepper. There's no exact recipe, but you MUST make it. It'll change your life. Next week I promise I'll make something super fab like Indian or something!

Halle Berry's Hair for Interview Magazine

Happy holidays everyone!

Now that the year is winding down, it's time for me to prepare my life for 2014. I will probably do a post later about my resolutions and things I intend to keep them with, but for now all I can think about is hair. I'm in the process of growing it out and constantly in search for hairspiration! Now, I'm not sure if this is Halle Berry's real hair, but I don't really care. This might be the prettiest I've seen her in a while-- and she's Halle Berry.

Iggy Azealia "Change Your Life"

I really have come around to love Iggy. Chances are, homegirl is too busy getting that paper to laugh at Flopzelia Banks. If you aren't familiar with Iggy, check out her iconic video for 'Work'.

I need her figure.

Solange Knowles Appreciation Post

Let's all take a moment to fall in love with the younger Knowles sister. It's a total plus that her music is awesome, on top of her incredible afro-bohemian style. Swear to god, I'm getting braids because she makes them look so good. Bless.

New Music Post!

Chance the Rapper

I feel like Chance the Rapper is what Lil Wayne would be like if he came onto the scene today as a 20 year old from Chicago who cares about sick production and can actually function in society. I've listened to his mixtape about five times this week, and I cannot gush enough about how great it is. Some gems include "Juice", "Favorite Song", and "Lost".

Please, please, PLEASE listen to the mixtape many times. Ya welcome!

CHVRCHES

I'll admit, I haven't listened to much of their other music, but what I have heard, I love. They're similar to Purity Ring, and I love Purity Ring. It's not that I'm not interested, I'm just lazy about obtaining music. HOWEVER, every time this song comes on, I'm jamming and putting it on repeat. Actually, I'm seeing them at Virgin FreeFest soon (around when their album comes out), so I know it's going to be fab.

Volcano Choir

Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) seems to turn everything he touches into gold. This new album, Repave, by his side project Volcano Choir, is fantastic. It sounds like a nice mix between For Emma, Forever Ago and Bon Iver. A perfect mix of folk and experimental electronics. Comes out September 3rd.

Listen here! (NPR)

I read, therefore I am hungry

As an avid reader, I used to read a TON of fiction. I still do, however, when a good non-fiction food book comes my way, I have to put my copy of NW by Zadie Smith down... for a while. I read cookbooks cover to cover, same with my issues of Bon Appétit. Here are (some of) my favorite food books/reads:

My Life in France by Julia Child

Until I read this book, I didn't realize how inspirational Julia and Paul Child are. First of all, not many people know much about Julia's husband, Paul. Civil servant and diplomat by day, gourmand and polymath by night. Their relationship is so touching because you can see in this book how much they loved and supported each other. He wrote about wishing he could take cooking classes with Julia, and joined a men's gourmet club as a way of taking part in his wife's massive culinary interests. Without Paul, there is no Julia.

On top of being jealous of their love for each other, I'm also jealous of how much fun and affordably livable Paris seemed for government workers in the 40s and 50s.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Simone Beck & Louisette Bertholle

You can't mention Julia Child books without listing this as well. As much as I disliked Julie Powell's personality, I am so inspired to also cook my way through this book. When I have some type of food I don't know what to do with, I always consult this book for ideas. Always.

La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange: The Original Companion for French Home Cooking by Madame Evelyn Saint-Ange

Julia actually mentions this book in My Life in France, but I think she said it was out of print at the time... By a stroke of luck, my mom heard on NPR that it was going back into print, and promptly bought me a copy for Christmas. It's a great reference book to have, so I like to consult this as well for recipe inspiration.

Cooked by Michael Pollan

I'm a sucker for anything Michael Pollan-related. If you haven't read any of his work, get on it! He doesn't just write about food, but everything surrounding it-- agriculture, politics, social impacts.. everything. Read The Omnivore's Dilemma, The Botany of Desire, and this one.

I devoured half of this mighty tome in about two days. The book is sectioned into four parts: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each relates to an element of how to cook your food these ways. The fermentation chapter is fascinating! I finally made starter.. that is currently sitting in my freezer and I need to finally make bread. Baking is hard :(

Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink by David Remnick

This is a compilation of all of The New Yorker's articles about food, categorized by the focus, such as Dining Out, Dining In, Fishing and Foraging, etc. My favorite story so far was about the history of the beefsteak parties thrown in New York by groups like Tammany Hall as fundraisers. TL;DR version:  men are disgusting gluttons and women ruined it after joining by requesting formal attire and side dishes.

Lapham's Quarterly: Food

Another compilation of food-related writings. This is fascinating, because it's full of art, poems, short stories, essays and articles from any point in history and any place in the world. The feast scene in the Odyssey has new meaning when read in the context of this collection. I highly recommend this.

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

Layla gave me this book. I read it in a day. Then I gave it to my mother and she loved it and gave it to her neighbor. While I worry about making sure I get my book back (quite the feat), it makes me happy that this book is so good and that the people in my life enjoy it as much as I do. Ruth Reichl is the former New York Times restaurant critic and the last editor of Gourmet magazine. She also had a mother whose struggle with bipolar disorder affected the food she made. In a series of sweet and funny short stories, Ruth explains how she grew from having to eat rotting food her mother deemed edible to becoming a famous restaurant critic, through various jobs and experiences in food.

The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten

I could have used the book cover, but let's be real-- this is so much better. This might be the first food-related book I've ever read, and I couldn't be prouder. Though I no longer have my copy (see note above about getting books back), I am tempted to buy a new one. Steingarten is the food writer for Vogue and occasional Iron Chef judge. He's a prickly guy, but endlessly entertaining.

MAGAZINES: Bon Appétit, Lucky Peach (Their Apocalypse issue changed my life. Not joking!!!!)

Let's All Do Better

As September is drawing to a close, I'm regretting the lack of posts Alicia and Layla has presented this summer. I'm going to do better, America! Here is what inspired me:

Damn it, Nike! There's no harm is striving to do better today what you did yesterday. Baby steps.

SIX HARSH TRUTHS THAT WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON

'Don't get me wrong; who you are inside is everything -- the guy who built a house for his family from scratch did it because of who he was inside. Every bad thing you've ever done has started with a bad impulse, some thought ricocheting around inside your skull until you had to act on it. And every good thing you've done is the same -- "who you are inside" is the metaphorical dirt from which your fruit grows. 

But here's what everyone needs to know, and what many of you can't accept: 

"You" are nothing but the fruit. 

Nobody cares about your dirt. "Who you are inside" is meaningless aside from what it produces for other people.'

Read this. Over and over and over again. Then do something you want to be good at... over and over and over again.