before the storm

my birthday sundae
at a
fancy hotel
by the lake.

. . .

sometimes
our lives
seem to be
an assortment
of moments...
too scattered
is our
day to day
that
one cannot
weave them
into
a story.
it ends up
more like
a nonsensical dream.

that is how
things
have been
for me
as of late.

. . .

grub was
in paris
for my birthday
{i made him go}
but he brought me
back
macarons & jam
from
pierre hermé,
tea from
mariage frères,
and treats
from my favorite
stores
{muji & petit pan}



i had hoped
to have
an amazing day
of swiss thrift shopping
on my birthday
but
the thrift shop gods
were not kind.

a few days
before
i saw
an old wooden toy
at a thrift shop
but hesitated
to buy it
{it was a whopping 8chf}.
but
it pestered me
until i returned
and
found it there
waiting for me
and
on sale for
half price!
i love old
beat-up
wooden toys.



it had
a signature
on the bottom



i looked it up
to find it was
a vintage swiss toy
by antonio vitali,
a pretty famous
swiss toy designer.

needless to say
it made
my day.

. . .

things
are otherwise
quiet...


{photo by grub}

trying to
sink into
what life is
like now.

enjoying
weekend breakfasts
on the balcony...



walks
by the lake
after
the saturday market...




lunches
with wine
(for those
with that option)



and
afternoon naps.



fleeting moments.
the quiet
before
the storm.

xo

eating spring

although
the weather
has been
beautiful
and
grub is
now here,
i have been
sick all
week...
uninspired
to photograph
or write.

grub has
been investigating
all the different
grocery stores,
liquor stores
and markets...
bringing home
different cheeses,
terrines
of unknown animals
{until we look it up},
and
vegetables of
all varieties.

yesterday
i began
to feel better
and
grub & i looked
at an amazing
apartment
{kept your fingers
crossed for us!}...

in the evening,
after the
apartment visit,
we sat in the
kitchen and
shelled
fava beans
and
cranberry beans
(photo above)
in the waning light.

he found
wild asparagus
at the market
so he sauteed
the asparagus
and paired
it with fresh
sheep's milk
ricotta,
some fava beans,
olive oil
and onions
for
our evening meal.



it felt like
i was eating
the essence
of spring.

more soon.
xo

thirty-eight

grub turned
38
on thursday.
we did a
post-birthday
celebration
this weekend
by taking
the 6am bus
to nyc...



and
the 3am
(yes 3am)
train home.
we always
thought
that sounded
like
just the sort
of crazy thing
we'd like
to do
{while we
still can}.



we had
lunch
at
jean georges





ate macaroons
from bouchon

shopped
at
some
favorite stores

cocktails
& sunset gazing
at perry street

dinner
at vandaag

then
rhum o rhama

cienfuegos

hurricane club
{horrible place}

painkiller

we barely made
it to the train!

. . .



sunday
we recovered
with a walk
to our
favorite pizza place
and
park.

see the
rest of
the weekend
polaroids
on
this joy + ride!

hope you had
a fun-filled
weekend.

xo

sunday morning

there's
something
so quiet
and
relaxing
about
sunday mornings.
i always
think of
this song.

sunday morning
brings the dawn in
it's just a restless feeling by my side

the city
slowly wakes
up
from
the
revelry
of
the night before
and
the sad
realization
of work
the following
day.
there is
the desire
to savor
the free
morning
before
it all begins
again.

grub
and i
trade off
making
a slow
and lazy breakfast
because
grub
hates
going out
for brunch.
so we rarely do.

grub
often makes
french toast.
one of my favorite
things
to make
is the easiest.
my mother made it
for sunday
breakfast
when we
were growing up.

early dawning
sunday morning
it's all the streets you crossed, not so long ago

i am not sure
where she got
the recipe
but it is
so simple
and
so tasty.

she called it
a
mexican souffle.
my alaskan friend
nicknamed it
vegetarian seal
because
it's the kind
of breakfast
you could
survive the whole day on.

here's the recipe:
mexican souffle



ingredients:
6 large eggs
8 oz sour cream
~ 1 cup salsa (just enough to cover the bottom of dish)
~ 1 cup cheese
(cheddar, monterey jack, pepperjack,
whatever goes with your salsa)

directions:
* pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
(you'll need about a 9 inch dish)
* cover bottom of the dish with salsa.
i like to use grub's tomatillo salsa
(if you want his recipe,
you'll have to ask him)



* sprinkle cheese on salsa liberally.
i am very generous with the cheese
* in a seperate bowl, beat the 6 eggs with a wisk.
after they are well beaten,
add sour cream and beat until smooth.
*pour egg/sour cream mixture slowly
over the salsa & cheese layers.



* place carefully in oven
* cook for ~45-50 minutes
or until brown and the middle is firm.
* serve immediately.

this also reheats great
in the microwave
for breakfast
the rest of the week.

eat...



enjoy...

your
sunday morning.

xo

the neglected banana

i am in
no way,
shape,
or
form
a morning person.
in theory
i love the mornings.
but
people
who tend
to stay up late
(read: me)
do not do
so well
with
early-rising.
you would do well
to know
not to talk to me
before i have had
my first cup
of tea.
probably
better
to wait until
my second,
just to be sure.

but
i love breakfast,
although
i rarely
eat it.
mainly because
i am
always
always
running late
(refer back
to tendancy
to stay up late).

on the
weekends
i can indulge.

one of
my favorites-
burg's french toast
with
grub's
roasted bananas-
a modified
eric ripert recipe
(you can
watch eric
roast them).



did i mention
how much
i hate
ripe
bananas?
well, i do.
i like most
of my fruit
slighty green.
i am sure
there's some
evolutionary
advantage
to eating
slightly
unripe fruit.
or at least
that's what
i claim.
so i won't touch
bananas
once
they are all yellow
or even worse,
when they
have even
the tiniest
bit of black.
some
neglected bananas
reached
well past
the point
of edible
this weekend,
so
i decided to
try my hand
at another
recipe
from
a homemade life,
glenn's banana bread.



i tend to
associate
banana bread
with overly moist,
heavy
brick-like
breakfast items
but molly talked
me into trying it

.

i might
just
be a convert.


perfect
for
the rush-out-the-door
morning types.
maybe
there's
hope for
my mornings
after all...

xo

oven love

i don't like
to cook.
i admit it.

this is often
a surprise to people
because
i love to eat
and
i am very picky
about
what
and
where
i eat
(i have been
known to send back
a grilled cheese
at a bar).



i blame it on
my upbringing.
you see,
my sister suzanne,
who is seven years older,
is a great cook
and loves
to cook.
my sister
is the oldest
and
i am
the youngest
of 5.
my mother
claims
that she once
enjoyed cooking.
i figure that
by the time
i came around
my mother
was damn tired
of cooking.
for her it was
a chore.
so that's how
i learned it.



also,
my father
and mother
have
the exact opposite
taste in cooking
(among other things).
to illustrate this
is to describe
their breakfast.
my father
will poach an egg
in oil
(it makes me
sick to watch)
and will fry
some meat from
last night's dinner
to go with it.
my mother
would be happy
with
some yogurt,
fruit,
maybe a croissant
or piece of toast,
and the
obligatory
cup of tea.
if she ate
an egg, it would be
soft boiled
and she gently chip
the top off the egg
with her knife
and dip
slivers of toast
into it.



so my dad
did not care
for her cooking
and
would rarely
have positive
things
to say
about it.

growing up
under
this
food drama
taught me
at a young age
to
always
appreciate
the cook
and to
never
ever
offer a cook
advice
unless asked.

i was fortunate
enough
to partner
with someone
who loves to cook.
i mean
he really enjoys it.
when he wants
to relax
he cooks.
this is a mystery
to me.
he tells me
that
i facilitate
his love of cooking
because
i wait
patiently
(we learned early
we needed to have
bread & cheese available
to avoid
altercations),
i am always
appreciative,
and
well,
i love to eat.

but oddly,
i actually
enjoy baking.
i realize
it's because
i have a tense
relationship
with the stove
and
i love the oven.
i like mixing everything up
and
then putting
it in the oven.
i love dough.
and,
if i do say so myself,
i have a feel for dough.
i know when it's
too wet,
or too dry
and what to do.
i attribute it
to my years taking
ceramics.
i also like
the science
of baking.
it appeals to me.
i love ratios.
i love
the smell of
yeast.
but i have been
shy of the kitchen
since
we have such
a love-hate
relationship
(i love
what comes out of it
but
i hate being in it).
also,
for most
of our relationship,
grub has ruled
the kitchen.
and i was
happy
to rule
the rest
of the house.

but now
i am eyeing
the kitchen
and new recipes
have
tempted me
to find
my way
back into
the kitchen.



i
envision
more
bread,
pizza,
and
pies
on the horizon.
oh,
and cookies!
because
everyone knows
tea
is best
with
a good cookie.
xo