Happy Halloween!

I just found this gorgeous accordion on craigslist:

Maybe it’s time. . .

BBQs with nephews

Seeing my favorite executive transvestite live and in person!!

Some delicious pastries while studying Italian before class in Little Italy Saturday mornings.

The state of my current little garden. I’m dealing with some mold on the zucchini plants, but the flowers are huge and gorgeous! There are also some bush beans, cherry tomatoes, dill, cilantro, basil and verbena.

A delicious trip to Chino Farms. Clockwise from 12:00 I bought heirloom tomatoes, Italian flat beans, multi-colored cherry tomatoes, white raspberries, strawberry figs, teeny brussel sprouts and rosemary that smells like sunshine and summer.

A sexy closeup of the raspberries. They were fabulous.

My next door neighbor, a very sweet, quiet man is sort of our inherited “gardener,” meaning he likes to come over, usually on Wednesdays and water things and occasionally pick a few weeds. A few months ago, he hacked down a big plant outside of our bedroom window that provided some screening for us from the house next door and I was none too happy, especially since I had just watered it the weekend before. Well, he must have known what he was doing because a week after he cut it down it started sprouting and we ended with a gorgeous patch of fragrant lilies.

We’ve also been to 4:00 Friday at the Del Mar racetrack. Mike’s sister, brother in law and a few other people rented out one of the top level suites, overlooking the racetrack, so we got to do it in style.

No, there are no pictures of horses, so you’ll have to believe me. And we won a whopping $4.00!

At our house last Saturday, we had a little lunch get together to celebrate some birthdays, including my mom’s. In typical Nana fashion, she gave gifts to all of the boys. So cute.

So that’s a brief update. There was also a movie screening of Bottleshock in there a few weeks ago, about the California wine industry competing with the French in the 1970’s. It’s a good flick, some flaws, but worth a view if you get a the chance. It’s in limited release right now.

The first is about kids in a juvenile detention center in Rhode Island who are learning trades and restoring vintage diners in the process.

“The whole poetry behind it is that these are kids who have been pretty much cast away emotionally and criminally, getting a chance to restore beloved eateries that have been cast off from society, too,”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/us/14diner.html

The second is by Ben Stein, a brilliant, funny guy, entitled Lessons of Love, by Way of Economics. It’s just a light hearted article about love.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/business/13every.html?scp=1&sq=economics%20of%20love&st=cse

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/nyregion/10towns.html?em&ex=1215835200&en=c84dff99e1e7a1fd&ei=5087%0A

I really miss the days of my youth (the late ’70’s and early ’80’s), where we would stay out playing all day during the summer, wander the neighborhood, play baseball in the street, walk miles and miles, unsupervised no less, and as long as we were home before dark, everything was fine.  I really feel that inspired a certain kind of adventurous, self-sufficient person and this kind of narrow-minded, controlling thinking makes me sad for their childhood and wonder what kind of people and society we’re trying to end up with.

Again, the pizza below is not a very recent creation, maybe two weeks ago? The dough is from a market in Little Italy, the sauce is homemade and I put artichokes, onions, sausage and anchovies on one quarter for Mike. I cannot embrace the idea of fish on my pizza. I’ve tried people. It’s not happening. No hate mail, please.

This is my first souffle - out a Bon Appetit (please excuse the dearth of accents in that sentence) cookbook. It was really simple, containing eggs, goat cheese, flour, salt and some herbs. And it didn’t deflate out soon as it came out of the oven, like it does in cartoons, which somehow I was expecting.  It was very light and satisfying. Since I actually followed the recipe this time, rather than improvising or adding more herbs or spices, that will be the one thing I will change for next time. I tend to like my foods more herbey and spicey than most recipes yield.

Okay, enough with the food. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. Happy Birthday America.

I first had homemade gnocchi in Venice many years ago in college, on the recommendation of a classmate who grew up eating them - and they were horrible. We were so desperate to eat something at the time that we unfortunately wandered into a touristy restaurant that cared much more about overcharging the unknowing American college girls than about the quality of their food. The gnocchi were overcooked to mushy and tasteless. Needless to say, I was not impressed, but I tried them again, on the same girl’s insistence that that was not typical gnocchi, and this time I loved them. Soft pillows of potato and ricotta, covered in a light tomato sauce. I’m drooling on myself just thinking about them.

I decided it was finally time to try them at home and was somewhat successful.

Since flour, water and my camera are a  poor combination, there aren’t that many pictures. I skipped the first steps of the boiling and mashing of the potatoes, which I did a few nights before.

Here is the potato, egg, flour, and salt mixture, cut into eight parts, ready for rolling.

My somewhat questionable and uneven rolling skills.

And the cut and pressed with a fork gnocchi, bathed in the afternoon light of my kitchen. I took many pictures of them as the light shifted and did actually say outloud when I was finished. “I’ve worked with better. . .but not many.” I try and fit in Ghostbusters II quotes wherever I can.

Here’s the finished product, with homemade pesto.

The final verdict? As Mike said, a good first attempt. Next time I’m going to do a few things differently. Although the recipe said that mashing the potatoes with a fork or potato masher was sufficient, I think a lot of the light texture comes from running them through a ricer, and there were chunks of potato in the gnocchi which I didn’t like, so I’m adding a ricer or food mill to my list of things to try and find at a thrift store or estate sale. Also, the recipe mentioned that you (I) could mash the potatoes and keep them overnight in the refrigerator. Well one night turned into three, if I remember correctly and I think starting with cold, dense, and somewhat lumpy (sounds delicious no?) potato mixture might not have been a winning combination. They were okay, but not great. The pesto was delicious and definitely helped uplift the dish from what the hell did I do, to hey the gnocchi are pretty good vehicles for getting pesto into my mouth.

So, not a complete disaster, but some things to improve on for next time.

Not quite me, but I’m feeling the Amelia Earhart vibe.

Mike as an Inuit.

We have fronch fries, fronch toast, fronch bread and to drink. . .Peru!

So we went with the Inuit hat - just kidding. We went with something a little more retro. A good look for him I think.

Guilty pleasure?

Her answer?

No guilt in pleasures.

I stopped and reread it.

And loved it.

What a fabulous point of view. Why hadn’t I thought of this before??? I answer that question automatically when people answer it. Dark chocolate, massages, vintage shoes and clothes, books, time by myself, wine, gelato, good cheese, flowers from the farmer’s market every week. And yes, I will admit that sometimes there is some guilt involved, regarding the time or money spent, or usually the caloric content of something. I’ve had an epiphany people, at 34, and maybe you’re already there, so thanks for waiting so patiently for me. Here it is - There is absolutely no reason to feel guilt for things that make us happy or give us pleasure, with the caveat of course, that we receive pleasure from something that doesn’t hurt anyone else. Other than that, the sky’s the limit I think. I also think that with the increased economic and mental stress from the way the American economy has gone sideways that it’s necessary to find pleasures in not only the big things, but the little, inexpensive things as well. The scene from Amelie comes to mind, where she’s skipping rocks across the water and slipping her hand into the beans to feel their texture.

My to be henceforth known as absolutely-no-guilt pleasures?

Well, the above mentioned of course

Staying at home on the couch, under a blanket with a good book, listening to the sound of rain on the roof and the feeling of safety and comfort.

Gardening. The feel of dark soil in my hands and watching things that I’ve planted grow and bloom.

Candlelight.

Taking a day off from work to play hookie and visit places that I don’t get to go during weekdays, like the park, my favorite bookstores or thrift stores.

Reading. Nothing feels more decadent than waking up on a Saturday morning and not having to hop right up and go to work, but picking up a good book and reading for a bit.

A movie by myself on a weekend night. I’ve always loved going to the movies by myself. I love not having to worry about the other person having a good time, being able to lose myself completely in the film and being able to walk out and not  immediately start discussing a completely unrelated topic, losing the mood that the movie had created.

Unplanned time with Mike, whether it’s just hanging around the house, taking a walk, or even going to Target, the man cracks me up and I love spending time with him.

The smell of used bookstores. They smell like home.

The sound of water. I have a fountain in the living room that is almost always on.

Reading or journalling in one of my favorite coffeeshops, with the pleasant chatter of people around.

Dressing well. The feeling of confidence that comes with the application of red lipstick, perfect hair, garters and stockings and a vintage outfit.

Visiting a new place. There’s a quickening of the pulse that happens for me when I get to visit a new place, whether it’s a new city, restaurant, museum or even coffeeshop. The thrill of the unknown. The potential for an undiscovered gem that will become a new favorite.

Time with the cuteness that is my nephews.

Vacation. Time away from work, not having to worry about what other people need and not be on a schedule.

The feeling of a cool breeze across my face on a warm day.

Taking photographs. It’s something that I really enjoy and sometimes I forget to find time for it.

Time with my girlfriends. We’ve been friends since high school and there’s a lightness that I feel after getting to spend time with them, laughing and sharing.

Cooking. Not every day, but on those weekend days where I have some extra time to create something delicious and homemade.

Walking places. I see so many wonderful things that I would miss if I was driving.

An act of kindness. It takes so little sometimes to do something kind for someone else, but can make such a difference in their day.

The not-so-free pleasures?

A new bottle of perfume.

Eating dinner at a restaurant, whether it’s a new place, or an old favorite.

Traveling.

And that’s the short list. What are your never-to-be-felt-guilty-about-again-pleasures?

Mike and I visited a few yard sales on Saturday. One in particular I was very excited about because it mentioned that there was a lot of vintage stuff available. When we walked up it was definitely a hodge podge of stuff and the backyard was even hodgier and podgier, but there were fantastic deals to be found and definitely a lot of cool vintage items.  I’m trying to cut back on spending and especially accumulating, after just moving and realizing how much stuff we have, but I couldn’t resist.

$5.00 people!  For 3 fabulous vintage bags, 2 bottles of vintage perfume and a train case in perfect condition.

The best part?

These keys were still inside the case. 

Saturday ended with a house party. And by house party I mean bbq at our house with Mike’s sister, brother-in-law and two nephews that included baseball in our backyard and ended with dancing to Neil Diamond, ABBA and the like in the living room, complete with a 5 year commandeering the strobe/dimmer switch and ending with, of course, a chorus line to the best ending song of any night,  New York, New York.  

Life is good.

Pictures will follow, of course.