Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Pig roast = life goals
A blog post caught my eye recently and got me thinking. It was titled "How to Roast a Pig on a Spit". Believe it. My world was turned upside down as I realized that I needed to reexamine my original Mighty Life List immediately. Here is the updated list [some of these have already been accomplished, go me!]:
52. Go to a wine festival.56. Bake bread.62. Organize a book club.91. Walk the Golden Gate Bridge.
1. Participate in a pig roast. Obviously.
3. Cook Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.
4. Read major works of Russian literature in Russian. I'm looking at you, Crime and Punishment.
5. Learn to ski.
6. Go to a World Cup game. Possibly make do with a DC United game.
7. Buy a super expensive bottle of champagne. Like those rappers.
8. Own a dog. One to whom I can say, "You cut to the core of me, Baxter" or name Cosmo.
9. Live in another country.
10. Go on a cruise. Maybe to Alaska so that I can see Russia.
11. Visit the Acropolis in Athens.
12. Sign up for a ballet class.
13. Learn some ballroom dances.
14. Watch the sun set behind the Great Pyramids in Giza.
15. Watch the sun rise at Stonehenge.
16. Go to a kabuki play in Japan. Eat sushi.
17. Make cheese.
18. Brew beer.
19. Grow basil or a tomato plant.
20. Publish something. Even if it's nerdy tax stuff.
21. Buy an original piece of art.
22. Take a painting class.
23. Take a golfing class.
24. Own a business. [A nerdy tax accounting business?]
25. Teach a course.
26. Become fluent in French.
27. Know basic Spanish.
28. Take a course at Oxford.
29. Learn what all of the buttons and settings do on my SLR digital camera.
30. See an opera at the Met.
31. Spend a day at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
32. Spend a day at the Louvre in Paris.
33. Go to Oktoberfest in Munich.
34. Go to Carnaval in Brazil.
35. Become a better swimmer.
36. Go to a petting zoo in Australia.
37. Have afternoon tea at the Ritz.
38. Learn to play guitar.
39. Learn to play the drums.
40. Learn to make my mom's favorite recipes.
41. Take a special someone to Russia with me.
42. Own a summer home. Or start with becoming a homeowner.
43. Participate in a tea ceremony in Kyoto.
44.Wait by the stage door after a concert and meet one of my favorite bands.
45. Go to a taping of the Daily Show.
46. Go skinny dipping.
47. Take a road trip across the U.S.
48. Make my own strawberry jam.
49. Make a quilt.
50. Ride in a helicopter.
51. Have tapas in Barcelona.
53. Own a pair of authentic cowboy boots.
54. Make a pie from scratch.
55. Make a pizza from scratch.
57. Commission a portrait.
58. Go mushroom hunting.
59. Get my wisdom teeth pulled.
60. Cook in a Le Creuset dutch oven.
61. Learn to drive a standard.
63. Resurrect the Finer Things Club.
64. Learn to play a few Christmas Carols on the piano. Host a Christmas sweater party.
65. Go sailing.
66. Read Les Miserables.
67. Make more traditions with friends and family.
68. Try hot buttered rum.
69. Letterpress something.
70. Get my master's degree.
71. Be admitted to practice in front of the Tax Court.
72. Work in a winery.
73. Host a fancy pants dinner party.
74. Go to the Stanley Cup finals.
75. Take a cooking class in France.
76. Meet an alpaca.
77. Spend a night on a train.
78. See a drag queen show.
79. See all of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses that are open to the public. (1/??)
80. Fire a gun.
81. Really learn wine.
82. Give a heartfelt, touching, and witty toast in public.
83. Spend a week on a farm.
84. Host a Thanksgiving dinner wherein I cook the turkey.
85. Pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.
86. See a drive-in movie.
87. Have a Wikipedia entry.
88. Go to Vegas.
89. Buy a stock on my own.
90. Participate in CSA, community-supported agriculture.
92. Go on a serious hike.
93. Make 1,000 lovely things. (1. Blueberry pie with freshly-picked blueberries. 2. Slideshow for my dad's 60th birthday. 3. Homemade bows.)
94. Try 1,000 new things.
95. Learn how to eat a crab.
96. Cover my fridge with magnets from places I have visited.
97. Be able to parallel park with confidence.
98. Order the tasting menu at a fancy pants restaurant.
99. Wear a dirndl.
100. Read every book I own.
photo from Serious Eats, "How to Roast a Pig on a Spit"
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
We Are Scientists present ... the rules of wine
We Are Scientists present ... the rules of wine
Study these rules while listening to WAS' new album, Barbara.
There are two basic types, or "varietals", of wine: red and yellow. Not surprisingly, there are different words for red and yellow wine in different countries. The French call them "bordeaux" and "sancerre", respectively. The Australians say "shiraz" and "chardonnay"; Italians, "nero d'avolo" and "pinot grigio." Germans, refreshingly, call everything "riesling".
Study these rules while listening to WAS' new album, Barbara.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Last Station
Watching The Last Station made me realize that I know nothing about Lev Tolstoy (other than that his original title for "War and Peace" was "War What Is It Good For?" and his mistress made him change it). So I did some light internet research, no big deal:
- Christian anarchist and pacifist. War What Is It Good For, indeed.
- Wealthy. Member of Russian nobility.
- On the eve of his wedding to Sofya he gave her his diaries detailing his extensive sexual history.
- Love your neighbor and God. Don't look to the Church or state for guidance.
- No meat, tobacco, or alcohol. Chastity.
- No Shakespeare.
- Excommunicated by the Russian Orthodox Church.
- Abandoned his wealth and family at the age of 82.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Soda-free in 2010!
Not having had a Diet Coke since circa December 17, this NYT article on a soda tax caught my eye.
Is soda the new tobacco? In their critics’ eyes, producers of sugar-sweetened drinks are acting a lot like the tobacco industry of old: marketing heavily to children, claiming their products are healthy or at worst benign, and lobbying to prevent change. The industry says there are critical differences: in moderate quantities soda isn’t harmful, nor is it addictive.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Inaugural Le Creuset Chili POD
At the beginning of the year I had resolved to write more and take more frequent photos and do more cooking. And look at how well I've done so far.
Last night, in preparation for the snOMG blizzard of 2010, I went to the Whole Foods. The produce isles were picked clean. I was able to snatch for myself the very last yam and also gather the ingredients to make some chili.
Behold, the inaugural chili of my new Le Creuset dutch oven:
This one has:
1. Onions and garlic.
2. Ground beef. I really should have drained the fat after browning, piggy.
3. Tomato paste.
4. Pinto beans. The last kind of canned bean left at the store last night. I had a can of kidney beans in my cupboard, due to expire in about a year, but they were gelatinous when I opened the can today. Gross.
5. Mushrooms. If it were socially acceptable, I would wear sweatpants and flip flops every day. I would also add mushrooms to every meal. On occasion I've also been known to add celery and/or red and yellow bell peppers to my chili.
6. Several splashes of Spaten beer. I couldn't really taste it in the chili.
7. Cilantro. Don't be afraid to use a lot of cilantro.
8. 2-Alarm Chili spices kit. I am not cheating, I just haven't gotten around to investing in bottles of all of the spices. I use: ground chili peppers, red pepper, paprika, cumin/oregano, salt, and some of the superfluous onion/garlic flakes.
Happy snOMG!
Last night, in preparation for the snOMG blizzard of 2010, I went to the Whole Foods. The produce isles were picked clean. I was able to snatch for myself the very last yam and also gather the ingredients to make some chili.
Behold, the inaugural chili of my new Le Creuset dutch oven:
This one has:
1. Onions and garlic.
2. Ground beef. I really should have drained the fat after browning, piggy.
3. Tomato paste.
4. Pinto beans. The last kind of canned bean left at the store last night. I had a can of kidney beans in my cupboard, due to expire in about a year, but they were gelatinous when I opened the can today. Gross.
5. Mushrooms. If it were socially acceptable, I would wear sweatpants and flip flops every day. I would also add mushrooms to every meal. On occasion I've also been known to add celery and/or red and yellow bell peppers to my chili.
6. Several splashes of Spaten beer. I couldn't really taste it in the chili.
7. Cilantro. Don't be afraid to use a lot of cilantro.
8. 2-Alarm Chili spices kit. I am not cheating, I just haven't gotten around to investing in bottles of all of the spices. I use: ground chili peppers, red pepper, paprika, cumin/oregano, salt, and some of the superfluous onion/garlic flakes.
Happy snOMG!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Fan letter to Richard Armitage
Dear Mr. Armitage,
This weekend I watched "North & South" for the first time. Netflix suggested this mini-series to me, and I went ahead and took its suggestion, watching all four hours in one sitting.
You, sir, are a panty-dropper, excuse my francais.
It's not that I am in love with you -- I don't know you at all -- but holy Dickens am I in love with the character that you created on screen. Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy has got nothing on your John Thornton. Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy jumping into the lake has got nothing on your John Thornton. Your John Thornton is stern yet sensual, contemplative and charismatic, a little proud at first, but more open-minded later. DREAMY. I'll admit that this description sounds like it could also apply to Mr. Darcy. But trust me, I prefer you and am shamelessly letting my affections be known.
A little about me. I am a British person, stuck in a Russian person's body who now lives in America. I love tea, Mr. Bean, and the Tate Modern museum. I am twelve years your junior, and am systematically working my way through "Robin Hood", where you play Guy of Gisborne, a baddie. As a side note, I am having difficulty understanding what demographic this show is geared towards. Teenage boys? Medieval history buffs? Women in their twenties, I hope? After some light internet stalking I have learned that you at one point had a live-in girlfriend who may or may not have been a theatre actress who may or may not still be living with you. One of your recent projects has been a show called "Spooks" in England, which for some reason has been renamed "MI-5" in the U.S. and is a "24"/Jack Bauer type of situation where you arrive on the show as an agent who has spent the last 8 years in a Russian prison and your allegiance may or may not have turned. Very Jack Bauer meets Tony Almeida. I plan to watch it after I finish "Robin Hood".
In conclusion, thank you for being such an accomplished actor, though truth me told I cannot tell for sure as I am blinded by your breathtaking beauty. Good day, Mr. Armitage.
Love,
Katya
This weekend I watched "North & South" for the first time. Netflix suggested this mini-series to me, and I went ahead and took its suggestion, watching all four hours in one sitting.
You, sir, are a panty-dropper, excuse my francais.
It's not that I am in love with you -- I don't know you at all -- but holy Dickens am I in love with the character that you created on screen. Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy has got nothing on your John Thornton. Colin Firth's Mr. Darcy jumping into the lake has got nothing on your John Thornton. Your John Thornton is stern yet sensual, contemplative and charismatic, a little proud at first, but more open-minded later. DREAMY. I'll admit that this description sounds like it could also apply to Mr. Darcy. But trust me, I prefer you and am shamelessly letting my affections be known.
A little about me. I am a British person, stuck in a Russian person's body who now lives in America. I love tea, Mr. Bean, and the Tate Modern museum. I am twelve years your junior, and am systematically working my way through "Robin Hood", where you play Guy of Gisborne, a baddie. As a side note, I am having difficulty understanding what demographic this show is geared towards. Teenage boys? Medieval history buffs? Women in their twenties, I hope? After some light internet stalking I have learned that you at one point had a live-in girlfriend who may or may not have been a theatre actress who may or may not still be living with you. One of your recent projects has been a show called "Spooks" in England, which for some reason has been renamed "MI-5" in the U.S. and is a "24"/Jack Bauer type of situation where you arrive on the show as an agent who has spent the last 8 years in a Russian prison and your allegiance may or may not have turned. Very Jack Bauer meets Tony Almeida. I plan to watch it after I finish "Robin Hood".
In conclusion, thank you for being such an accomplished actor, though truth me told I cannot tell for sure as I am blinded by your breathtaking beauty. Good day, Mr. Armitage.
Love,
Katya
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Interesting reading elsewhere
The New Yorker's profile of Whole Foods' CEO, John Mackey.
John Mackey, the co-founder and chief executive of Whole Foods Market, refers to the company as his child—not just his creation but the thing on earth whose difficulties or downfall it pains him most to contemplate. He also sees himself as a “daddy” to his fifty-four thousand employees, who are known as “team members,” but they may occasionally consider him to be more like a crazy uncle. To the extent that a child inherits or adopts a parent’s traits, Whole Foods is an embodiment of many of Mackey’s. A Whole Foods store, in some respects, is like Mackey’s mind turned inside out. Certainly, the evolution of the corporation has often traced his own as a man; it has been an incarnation of his dreams and quirks, his contradictions and trespasses, and whatever he happened to be reading and eating, or not eating.NYT's article about procrastinating pleasure.
For once, social scientists have discovered a flaw in the human psyche that will not be tedious to correct. You may not even need a support group. You could try on your own by starting with this simple New Year’s resolution: Have fun ... now! Then you just need the strength to cash in your gift certificates, drink that special bottle of wine, redeem your frequent flier miles and take that vacation you always promised yourself. If your resolve weakens, do not succumb to guilt or shame. Acknowledge what you are: a recovering procrastinator of pleasure.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas POD
My mom taught me how to make vareniki (you probably know them as pierogies) from scratch. We made a large batch yesterday afternoon.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Thanks, Starbucks!
Starting today, Starbucks is selling French macarons produced by Chateau Blanc. Macarons are a traditional French pastry made of egg whites, almond powder, icing sugar, and sugar (and are not coconut macaroons).
The box looks like this:
The macarons look like this:
You'll get two each of coffee, pistachio, raspberry, chocolate, vanilla, and lemon. Macarons do not tend to last very long, only a couple of days, so I expected these not to be super fresh. The fruity ones -- raspberry and lemon -- were actually very moist and fresh-tasting. The chocolate one was a bit on the dry side and the coffee-flavored one was my least favorite (ironically for Starbucks?). But don't get me wrong. I. Am. Thrilled.
I had afternoon tea with my macarons and out of curiosity, did a Google search of other reviews or articles about this product. Words like "sacrilegious" and "outrageous" are being thrown around all over the Internet. But seriously people, is there a Laduree somewhere around here that I don't know about? For the price and for the accessibility, I am willing to forgive that fact that they do not taste EXACTLY like the ones you would order in a shop in Paris. Theory of the day: Acceptable and decent macarons are better than no macarons at all.
Try them before the 25th!
The box looks like this:
The macarons look like this:
You'll get two each of coffee, pistachio, raspberry, chocolate, vanilla, and lemon. Macarons do not tend to last very long, only a couple of days, so I expected these not to be super fresh. The fruity ones -- raspberry and lemon -- were actually very moist and fresh-tasting. The chocolate one was a bit on the dry side and the coffee-flavored one was my least favorite (ironically for Starbucks?). But don't get me wrong. I. Am. Thrilled.
I had afternoon tea with my macarons and out of curiosity, did a Google search of other reviews or articles about this product. Words like "sacrilegious" and "outrageous" are being thrown around all over the Internet. But seriously people, is there a Laduree somewhere around here that I don't know about? For the price and for the accessibility, I am willing to forgive that fact that they do not taste EXACTLY like the ones you would order in a shop in Paris. Theory of the day: Acceptable and decent macarons are better than no macarons at all.
Try them before the 25th!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The ultimate day of Christmas activities
Today was a whirlwind adventure of Christmas fun. Tomorrow is a day of hard-core final exam studying. But today was a day of Christmas fun.
First stop: the White House Christmas tree.
Surely it looks better lit up at night. But I thought twice about braving a cold winter night as I pulled on my under-the-jeans tights to keep warm on this sunny day.
Next stop: get a picture of yourself with your home state Christmas tree.
Here is me with the Maryland tree. What a pair of classy broads.
Next: go to the Willard Intercontinental Hotel and drink a hot toddy in the decorated lobby. Things went awry a little bit at this stage of the activities as I placed my feelings of adventureness ahead of my feelings of "what sounds good". I found myself ordering the Hot Buttered Rum, which was literally heated rum with a slab of butter floating and melting around in it. Note for next time -- go with the spiced apple cider or that peppermint drink, not the drink that Mark Twain supposedly enjoyed, Jesus what is wrong with you?
Pit stop at Teaism for a bento box of delicious Japanese food.
Next: browse the stalls at the downtown holiday market. Buy presents only for yourself. Actually, I only really bought just one thing: a yummy photo print of a farmer's market in Venice (photo taken by this man). I have high hopes for this print and the kitchen of my new apartment.
Keep going!: visit Julia Child's kitchen at the American History museum.
While not particularly a Christmas activity, it was on my must-see list.
Finally: visit the parents and put up and decorate the T family Christmas tree!
The responsibilities fell on Papa T and I this year, and my absolute favorite part was unwrapping each ornament and associating it with a certain memory.
This one my mom bought during the Chinese Year of the Boar, since yours truly has a pig year birthday.
This one I purchased at the Buckingham Palace shop the year I spent New Year's Eve and the two following weeks in London with a college friend.
This one serves as a reminder of the year I was supposed to study abroad in Japan for three weeks and got sick with the flu two days before the flight and was unable to go.
Ah yes, the Irish harp I bought last year when I was living in Ireland by myself and had no Christmas tree, but thank goodness my parents came to town and saved the day and visited me for the holidays.
These I can remember from forever ago. My mom calls them the "GDR ornaments" because, yes, they were made in East Germany way back back in the day.
What are your favorite ornaments (or Christmas activities)?
First stop: the White House Christmas tree.
Surely it looks better lit up at night. But I thought twice about braving a cold winter night as I pulled on my under-the-jeans tights to keep warm on this sunny day.
Next stop: get a picture of yourself with your home state Christmas tree.
Here is me with the Maryland tree. What a pair of classy broads.
Next: go to the Willard Intercontinental Hotel and drink a hot toddy in the decorated lobby. Things went awry a little bit at this stage of the activities as I placed my feelings of adventureness ahead of my feelings of "what sounds good". I found myself ordering the Hot Buttered Rum, which was literally heated rum with a slab of butter floating and melting around in it. Note for next time -- go with the spiced apple cider or that peppermint drink, not the drink that Mark Twain supposedly enjoyed, Jesus what is wrong with you?
Pit stop at Teaism for a bento box of delicious Japanese food.
Next: browse the stalls at the downtown holiday market. Buy presents only for yourself. Actually, I only really bought just one thing: a yummy photo print of a farmer's market in Venice (photo taken by this man). I have high hopes for this print and the kitchen of my new apartment.
Keep going!: visit Julia Child's kitchen at the American History museum.
While not particularly a Christmas activity, it was on my must-see list.
Finally: visit the parents and put up and decorate the T family Christmas tree!
The responsibilities fell on Papa T and I this year, and my absolute favorite part was unwrapping each ornament and associating it with a certain memory.
This one my mom bought during the Chinese Year of the Boar, since yours truly has a pig year birthday.
This one I purchased at the Buckingham Palace shop the year I spent New Year's Eve and the two following weeks in London with a college friend.
This one serves as a reminder of the year I was supposed to study abroad in Japan for three weeks and got sick with the flu two days before the flight and was unable to go.
Ah yes, the Irish harp I bought last year when I was living in Ireland by myself and had no Christmas tree, but thank goodness my parents came to town and saved the day and visited me for the holidays.
These I can remember from forever ago. My mom calls them the "GDR ornaments" because, yes, they were made in East Germany way back back in the day.
What are your favorite ornaments (or Christmas activities)?
Monday, December 7, 2009
Let the Great World Spin
Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann
I am going to come right out and say it, no suspense-building here, this powerhouse of a novel gets a 5 out of 5 from me.
The story centers around Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the World Trade Center Twin Towers in the 1970's. And by the way, that's a true story (watch this documentary!) although that story is certainly romanticized in this novel and it is quite clear that the author has taken liberties to add many a whimsical detail and flourish. Regardless. It's a fascinating bit of history. I think of Petit as both 1) quite literally a freak of nature -- seriously, how many people in the world could have accomplished that feat? and 2) amazing in the truest sense of the word. Throughout the novel we get glimpses into Petit's brain about his preparations and his actual walk as well as the various reactions of New Yorkers who saw him up there, over 100 stories high.
Mind if I read you the first paragraph?
The meat of the story intertwines the complicatated lives of several strangers, picked to live in a house, work together, have their lives taped . . . oh sorry, I have Real World DC on the brain. There is Corrigan, a young Irish monk, who lives among the prositutes of the Bronx and struggles with his faith. There is a Park Avenue woman who has lost her son in Vietnam. There is a young artist who finds herself at the scene of a hit-and-run. There is Tillie, a thirty-eight-year-old grandmother whose teenage daughter is also a prostitute. Their lives are messy, fascinating, heartbreaking.
5 out of 5
Read it. And here is an extra credit viewing assignment:
by Colum McCann
I am going to come right out and say it, no suspense-building here, this powerhouse of a novel gets a 5 out of 5 from me.
The story centers around Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the World Trade Center Twin Towers in the 1970's. And by the way, that's a true story (watch this documentary!) although that story is certainly romanticized in this novel and it is quite clear that the author has taken liberties to add many a whimsical detail and flourish. Regardless. It's a fascinating bit of history. I think of Petit as both 1) quite literally a freak of nature -- seriously, how many people in the world could have accomplished that feat? and 2) amazing in the truest sense of the word. Throughout the novel we get glimpses into Petit's brain about his preparations and his actual walk as well as the various reactions of New Yorkers who saw him up there, over 100 stories high.
Mind if I read you the first paragraph?
Those who saw him hushed. On Church Street. Liberty. Cortlandt. West Street. Fulton. Vesey. It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful. Some thought at first that it must have been a trick of the light, someting to do with the weather, an accident of shadowfall. Others figured it might be the perfect city joke -- stand around and point upward, until people gathered, tilted their heads, nodded, affirmed, until all were staring upward at nothing at all, like waiting for the end of a Lenny Bruce gag. But the longer they watched, the surer they were. He stood at the very edge of the building, shaped dark against the gray of the morning. A window washer maybe. Or a construction worker. Or a jumper.This is the backdrop.
The meat of the story intertwines the complicatated lives of several strangers, picked to live in a house, work together, have their lives taped . . . oh sorry, I have Real World DC on the brain. There is Corrigan, a young Irish monk, who lives among the prositutes of the Bronx and struggles with his faith. There is a Park Avenue woman who has lost her son in Vietnam. There is a young artist who finds herself at the scene of a hit-and-run. There is Tillie, a thirty-eight-year-old grandmother whose teenage daughter is also a prostitute. Their lives are messy, fascinating, heartbreaking.
5 out of 5
Read it. And here is an extra credit viewing assignment:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Philippe Petit | ||||
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