apple pie & arsenic

I went back & forth deciding whether to move my blog to wordpress, and . . . I did! No hard feelings? ;) I will be editing and transferring the content from this blog over to wordpress slowly but surely, and in the mean time there are all sorts of new things to read over at my blog's new home.

Visit applepieandarsenic.wordpress.com for all the latest!

An apartment that has two bedrooms and a living room is not a three bedroom apartment.

I was listening to a mix I compiled a while ago, and a Magnetic Fields song I haven't heard in a while took me by surprise once again (as it did the first time I listened to it) with one of my favorite lines from a song ever . . .

This weekend I found myself in Barnes & Noble no less than three times (when I should have been doing any number of other things), and happened upon some interesting books--in particular, I noticed quite a few with strikingly beautiful illustrations. Here are some of my favorites; check them out online or peruse them the next time you've got a few minutes to spare in good ol' B&N.

1. How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird

This weekend I found myself wandering the children's section of Barnes & Noble on two different occasions; I read children's books for many reasons, but one of the things I love most is their ability to capture grand ideas and present them so simply and beautifully. How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird is one of the best examples of that aforementioned quality I've seen in a long time; It is absolutely gorgeous in its aesthetic, its writing and its overall message. The cover alone grabbed me enough that I had to go back and see what was inside. The book jacket's summary puts it quite well:

"A child wakes up, puts up an easel, picks up a brush and paints--paints a perch, a tree, the warmth of the sun and the sound of the summer breeze--and a bird come to the child and sings. . . a meditation on art, creativity and wonder that has meaning for every reader."

I picked it up for my friend and former/future roommate (it's a long story) as something to inspire her as she steps out into new territory--literally and figuratively--over the next few months, and I think anyone with a creative spirit will relate to the little boy and his once-blank canvas.

Click here to view it on amazon.com using their "search inside" feature.

How to paint the portrait of a bird

2. Exodus

This oversize book is beyond description; over the course of seventeen years, artist Sam Fink hand lettered every chapter of the book of Exodus in English and Hebrew, and set each chapter against a different watercolor sky--some abstract with colors bleeding across the page, some featuring black-lined trees, some with birds peering out from behind branches. I came across this book during the holidays and had to go back to see it again (and show it to a friend) this past weekend. It is absolutely breathtaking. The amount of time and care that went into painting each tiny letter is amazing in and of itself, let alone the wonder of the finished product--this truly was a labor of love on the part of Mr. Fink (for God and for his family, for whom the work was initially created) and that is inspiring in and of itself.

Exodus

3. Zen Ties

You might not expect to find yourself swept up into the world of a giant panda named Stillwater, his little nephew who only speaks in haiku, and three children who befriend a grouchy old lady at Stillwater's request, but this tome by John J. Muth, featuring delightful watercolor illustrations and a clear but deftly delivered message, is absolutely captivating in its simple beauty.

Zen ties

Hey there.

This is a PSA to let you, the reader, know that you will probably happen upon a number of grammatical errors while perusing this blog. In most cases I am probably aware of said errors and have elected not to correct them for one of two reasons:

1. I like to maintain a conversational tone and feel that, for example, saying something like "one should always" instead of "you should always" while speaking in the first person really takes away from the aforementioned tone, even if my fifth-grade English teacher would give me about fifteen demerits for such an offense. I feel such a strict adherence to grammarian principles would undoubtedly isolate many readers and result in a stiff and stilted tone that's really not me at all, thereby effectively defeating the entire purpose of this blog in the first place. For what is a blog, really, if not a means for free and creative personal expression? And who's to say that can't include a breach of accepted grammatical rules in favor of an individualized freedom of communication, as long as said communicator pays proper mind to the foundation upon which our fine language has been built? Who I ask???!!!!

2. I am too lazy to fix them.

"You can in fact whip up a pot of fantastic butternut squash deliciousness in about 15 minutes--and one that rivals the most labor-intensive versions of the soup at that . . ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In keeping with my promise to cook more often in this new year, I give you the following . . .

My Adventures with Butternut Squash Soup:

As you may already know, I absolutely love a good squash soup. I also adore making things from scratch. However, my first experience with actually making butternut squash soup left me just about ready to quit cooking all together--what with the soul-crushing nightmare of trying to wrest five pounds of squash flesh from its incredibly and maddeningly resistant outer skin--as well as just about ready for a long round of physical therapy. Seriously. I don't think I could feel my fingers for a few hours after that little adventure. It even prompted me to go out and buy a keyhole saw from Home Depot in case I ever got the crazy notion to attempt cutting into the blasted vegetables again (side note: when you ask the kind people at Home Depot where you might find a small saw and then proceed to tell them you need it to make soup, you get some pretty interesting responses). You know if you need a saw to cut through a piece of produce something ain't right.

Anyway, since then there have been many occasions on which I've craved the wonderfully rich yet clean flavor of that recipe (yes, at least it was very good--we would have entered a whole other circle of hell had it been a flop), but somehow the idea of spending my entire evening fighting with a squash just never sounds very appealing. And so it came to be that I never made the soup again . . . at least not until just the other day when I discovered a recipe for a similar version of my beloved bisque printed on the interior of a box of frozen Cascadian Farm organic winter squash.

I felt elated and kind of stupid all at once; the frozen puree has become one of my favorite cold-weather foods (it's healthy and a snap to prepare), so I can't believe it never dawned on me to use it in a soup before. My wounded pride aside, I'm happy to report that thanks to the good folks at Cascadian Farm you can in fact whip up a pot of fantastic butternut squash deliciousness in about 15 minutes--and one that rivals the most labor-intensive versions of the soup at that (the first recipe, aside from calling for Herculean strength to ready the squash, also required me to stew at length a large and unruly assortment of leeks, fennel and other green things that don't take to sitting nicely and neatly in a pot and therefore required constant poking and prodding). Another great thing is that this recipe tastes much more substantial than its 110 calories and (roughly) 4 grams of fat per cup would lead you to believe . . . always good to know after the season of WAY too many cookies. And last but not least, it's also very inexpensive to make, especially since you'll probably have most of the ingredients on hand already.

You can find the recipe (along with a catalog of others) at the Cascadian Farm website, or just reference it below:

Curried Squash Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Start to finish: 20 minutes

1 tbs. olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2c)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/4c apple juice
2 boxes (10 oz. each) Cascadian Farm frozen organic winter squash, thawed
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. coarse (kosher or sea) salt
1/4c half-and-half

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.

2. Stir in broth, apple juice, squash, curry powder and salt. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Simmer uncovered about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in half-and-half. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until hot--do not boil (I turned the heat down a bit for this step).

Makes approximately 5 cups.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conclusions and Notes:

1. Keyhole saws really are great for sawing through stubborn produce. In addition to squash, they're excellent for battling rutabagas.

2. Some people like a challenge. If you like to do things the hard way, check out the source of my original soup recipe --who else but Martha Stewart. It is quite fantastic with a depth of flavor that's hard to match, but be forewarned: you'll be tied to the kitchen for a few hours, especially if you make the stock from scratch (and you might as well if you're going to put yourself through the pain of sawing through all those squash rinds). One thing to note, you might have a better experience than I did as I made this soup for a party and therefore cooked up about five times the amount of the printed recipe.

3. In times (way) past, I had a boyfriend who routinely called me "butternut." At the time I thought it was kind of ridiculous, but sweet nonetheless. Now it kind of makes me want to gag.

4. If any of you decide it would be cute or "funny" to call me butternut now, just remember--I own a keyhole saw. Seriously.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I think everything is just a little more fabulous en français, but even if you couldn't care less about brushing up on your conversation skills so as to be prepared when you finally take that glorious trip to Provence to drink wine and gather lavender, you can't avoid running into the French language almost everywhere you go (you only have to look as far as a menu these days--and in fact the word menu itself is French in origin). . . but, if you're anything like me, while you can often grasp the general meaning of a phrase, its actual translation may remain a mystery (how exactly do you cherchez la femme anyway?).

Lucky for us, wikipedia has a list of many of the French phrases that have woven their way into the common vernacular--from bon mots to vis-à-vis to coup d'état--along with their definitions. Check it out here!

Now, if you are a bit more interested in improving your French skills, check out this list of phrases that you probably won't find in any lonely planet guide but will really help you give those Parisians a taste of their own medicine. Actually, I personally love the Parisians, but I still think it's fun to say:

"Tu es completement debile"
(you're a complete moron),

"Voulez-vous cesser de me cracher dessus pendant que vous parlez"
(Would you stop spitting on me while you're talking)

or my personal favorite . . .

"Vous avez de la ciboulette sur votre dent"
(you have a chive on your tooth)

And if that's not enough, click here to visit an entire website devoted to being obnoxious en français.

Paris.jpg

See? I know you're feeling more French already, n'est-ce pas?

Make fun of me if you will, but I fell in love with this song's infectious beat when I was working under the bright lights of Sephora in Times Square what seems like eons ago now, but to my dismay it was never available in the US iTunes store when I would try to purchase it. How fitting then that I finally found it last night, on the heels of a new year . . . it definitely makes me want to Get Up, Get Out and Grab 2008 by the tail--or at least get to the gym tout de suite so my legs can be halfway as fantastic as this:

Oh come on, you know those gold hot pants are inspiring.