Befores and Afters

It had been a long week of painting. I am finally (mostly) done, with just the window frame left to paint, a project that has its own complications what with needing the window open on 80 degree days.

So without further ado, here are a couple before and after shots. The room is still empty but at least it's a pretty shell for my new office.

Blue Room

I have been inspired. By two people. My friend Jen is moving into her first house and has been busy painting and prepping for the big move-in day. My other friend Tina just moved into another apartment and set up her own office in one of the spare bedrooms. I, as of two days ago, did not have an office. My books and things sat on the coffee table until I had to move them for some reason.

Upstairs was an empty room. It was blue because it was so lonely. Once painted and decorated, it is going to be my new office.

Some spackling had to be done first. Our house was built in the 1920s, so some of the wall and ceiling surfaces are less than perfect.

Yesterday most of the spackling had dried so I was able to prime the whole room. This is me at the beginning. I did not look this cheery at the end. There were a lot of surfaces to paint.

Now the whole room is a ghostly white.

Today I paint the ceiling. It sounds somewhat daunting. Then tomorrow I can finally put color on the walls. I chose Martha Stewart Chinchilla for the color.

I thought chinchillas were somewhat brown. Martha obviously knows best. I have been dying to paint something grey so I hope this turns out well.

Cold Pasta

I love cold pasta.

It's about as simple a meal as you can get, second only perhaps to pizza because that you likely didn't make yourself the day before.

I made pasta yesterday for dinner. Whole wheat shells topped with sautéed onions, garlic, summer squash, tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, fresh basil and oregano, and feta. Yesterday we ate it hot at the dining table, breaking a sweat while doing so.

A few hours later, after dishes, after working on a writing project, I opened the fridge and its glow leaked suspiciously into the dark kitchen. What, after all, could I possibly want at this time of night? There was the pasta, reposing in a plastic container, innocently abiding its time on the shelf next to the peanut butter. It had cooled down by now, and the container was heavy as I pulled it from the fridge.

The Tupperware released some garlicky air when opened. The kitchen drawer groaned when I opened it for a fork.

Cold pasta is best eaten standing at the counter, the container in one hand, fork in the other. By this point the noodles have absorbed all the flavor of the accompanying players in the dish, but mostly the garlic. Perhaps this is why I love it so. The thing is, cold pasta does not look good. No one else really wants to help you finish it, which is fine by me.

It was 9 in the evening. I had just finished a small bowl of raspberry sorbet but I knew something better was waiting. I busily shoved a few forkfuls in my mouth, not wanting to spoil all the fun for today.

You can guess what I'm having for dinner.

Fall Fashion from J. Crew

New arrivals at J. Crew. Fall is in the air!

My favorites

Wooly ribbed turtleneck

Donegal tweed Atlee skirt

Gnome Garden

My mother-in-law has a gnome garden.

Some stand at attention protecting the yard.

Some smoke their pipe not watching guard.

Some dream of the day when they're all free.

Some smile and wave with perpetual glee.

Some head off to the wild beyond.

Some keep to work for the job's never done.

Some wink and whisper, "come over here."

Some have a toad to ward against deer.

By marigold and bee balm and pansy and fern

Each has its place in the garden of gnomes.

Morning Still Life

Double, double, toil and trouble...

Shakespeare in Delaware Park presents Macbeth

Black Swan

Black Swan premiers at the Venice Film Festival on September 1 (my birthday!).

Vegan for Dinner

It was the eggplant that started it all. Our CSA announced this week that only half the members would be receiving an eggplant in their share because they could not harvest enough for everyone. I thought to myself, it's okay if I don't get one. I'm not that fond of them because every time I try to cook one it just ends up soggy or oily.

Lo and behold, a purple specimen shows up in our bag on Saturday. It sat in the fridge until today, when I knew I had to use it or toss it because we are leaving tomorrow for a long weekend in Lake Placid.

What to do with an eggplant... Somewhere I remembered reading about roasting eggplant. It sounded like a nice way to make it flavorful without it soaking up too much olive oil. I also had a green cabbage from our CSA. Not knowing if it too could be roasted, I googled "roasted cabbage" and enough recipes turned up for me to confident in putting the two together in the oven.

I chopped the eggplant into 1-inch sections and the cabbage to approximately the same size. Both went on a rimmed baking sheet and both got olive oil and salt and pepper. I sprinkled ground cumin, coriander, and turmeric on the eggplant, and paprika on the cabbage. Into a 375 degree oven went the veggies.

To round out the meal, I sautéed an onion, a small bell pepper, a serrano pepper (from the plant on our back deck), and some garlic. When all was soft and golden, I added the water to cook the couscous and let that come to a boil. Then in went the couscous and off went the heat. It sat covered for 5 minutes or so until the liquid was absorbed.

After about 35 minutes the eggplant and cabbage was aromatic and browned on the edges (I had tossed it a few times during roasting). I put all of it in with the couscous and tossed it with some more olive oil, salt, and a drained/rinsed can of garbanzo beans.

It got finished with the juice from half a lemon and chopped herbs (parsley, mint, oregano and basil) from my herb box.

There was little to put away as leftovers after dinner. I even liked the eggplant.

Literary Destinations

Five Books to Help You Escape via NPR

A Tee for You

'Le Voyage' tee from Threadless.com

Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Pasta

We were going to go out to Amy's Place for dinner last night, but Turner wasn't in the mood, having worked hard all day. He asked if there was something at home we could eat. Of course, there was. I can make dinner out of just about anything. And with a fridge full of vegetables from this week's CSA bag, dinner would be easy.

I sautéed a yellow summer squash with a Vidalia onion (chopped) and some fresh garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Added a pint of cherry tomatoes (halved) and chopped olives when the squash was done. Added cooked whole wheat Delallo organic shells (the starch on this pasta is divine). Tossed that with more EVOO and fresh parsley, basil, and oregano from my herb box. Fini!

School Clothes

J. Crew purchase just made. Did I not tell you I am obsessed?

I still remember the thrill of going shopping for new school clothes every year with my mom. My sister and I would get one special outfit that we would wear on the first day of school. I will be sure to have Turner take my picture on August 30.

Half-Price Roses

I am generally not a huge fan of roses, preferring instead wilder, more unusual flowers. But when they are half-price (and not red) at Wegman's, I can't resist.

Peaches 'n Cream

Sometimes cupcakes and I do not get along. It's not that I don't love eating them, but sometimes the baking poses a problem. I have pulled my fair share of sunken, not-done-in-the-middle cupcakes out of the oven after leaving them in for well over the recommended baking time. I believe this has something to do with the amount of moisture in the batter.

Then if I add fruit into the equation, the results tend to be even worse. Ever made banana bread with too much banana? It doesn't cook in the middle. It never will. You could leave it in the oven forever and it still would not be done.

With these failures in mind, I set about making peach filled cupcakes yesterday. The recipe, which I followed to a T (whatever does this cliché mean?), is from the August Martha Stewart Living, on the back page (not yet available on the website). I take it back. I did not follow the recipe exactly because I swapped peaches for nectarines, but Martha said it was okay. My batter only made 10 cupcakes instead of 12 also. Maybe my tablespoons are bigger than Martha's.

You assemble the cupcakes before baking by putting one tablespoon batter in the muffin tin and then one tablespoon of the chopped peaches. Remember what I said above about adding fruit to baked goods? I was certain of an uncooked disaster. After the peaches, you add two more tablespoons of batter, then bake.

I left them in the oven for two minutes longer than suggested, just to be safe.

None sunk!

They all came out perfectly. And they were delicious.

The frosting is whipped heavy cream, sour cream, and sugar, and perfectly compliments the peaches.

I'm Obsessed.

Jeweled wool tank

Rimini cardigan

Cupro Élan trouser

Classic leather tote

Photos courtesy jcrew.com

Shakespeare in NYC, 2011

The Royal Shakespeare Company comes to Lincoln Center in 2011.

Can't wait!!

Remembrance of Chickens Past

Despite the happiness I feel at being back at home, I miss some things from Minnesota (things other than my lovely family of course).

1. My mom's mad grilling skills. Move over Bobby Flay!

A close-up of that fabulous chicken (sorry vegetarians!)

2. The unparalleled joy Bella gets when playing with her cousin Zach.

3. Fitger's beer.

4. Swimming in the clean waters of northern Minnesota. Water is an agate's throw away from just about anywhere.

A Pair of Pears

I cannot remember the last time I saw a pear tree. I don't know why, but pears are one of those fruits that I can't imagine growing on trees. They seem too delicate and blushing for such a rigorous existence. Well, I saw a pear tree in a backyard in Milwaukee. It did not seem loved, but I knew that we could not get it on the top of our Subaru and back to Buffalo in one piece.

Study of Two Pears

BY WALLACE STEVENS

I

Opusculum paedagogum.

The pears are not viols,

Nudes or bottles.

They resemble nothing else.

II

They are yellow forms

Composed of curves

Bulging toward the base.

They are touched red.

III

They are not flat surfaces

Having curved outlines.

They are round

Tapering toward the top.

IV

In the way they are modelled

There are bits of blue.

A hard dry leaf hangs

From the stem.

V

The yellow glistens.

It glistens with various yellows,

Citrons, oranges and greens

Flowering over the skin.

VI

The shadows of the pears

Are blobs on the green cloth.

The pears are not seen

As the observer wills.

Our other exciting find in Milwaukee, not counting our great friends and the pear tree above, was a labyrinth on the grounds of Mount Mary College. It was patterned after the labyrinth on the floor of the nave of Chartres Cathedral. While that one is grand, this one is humble. While that one requires a transatlantic flight, this one waits unassumingly for anyone to stumble across.

It pleased me.

Labyrinth at Mount Mary College, Milwaukee

Pattern for labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, France

The dog didn't quite get it.

Plagiarism and the Freshman Writing Student

NY Times on plagiarism