from Simply RecipesThese Twice Baked Potatoes, taken loosely from a Simply Recipes recipe (love that site) made for a lovely picture and an even lovelier tasty meal. I basically used the bacon cheddar recipe but substituted broccoli and chives for bacon. While these take a long time to bake, the actual effort is minimal.
124 Meserole Ave. Greenpoint, BrooklynI feel bad – Our neighbors, Greenpoint’s Eat Cafe, deserves a much better representation than this grainy, dim iphone images, but my camera batteries were dead and Shaun came to my rescue with his phone, so please forgive me. It’s a particular shame considering how lovely a picture the dishes would make. Fresh vegetables, flowering greens, and other delights adorn the plates of Jordan Colon, owner chef and part time farmer.
Rustic and laid back, the one time record shop has an informal feel. The space is unfettered with a soundtrack, warmly dim, and sparse. There is no wait staff, just an order window with the ever changing locavore menu posted on chalkboard next to it. We opted for the suggestion of splitting the entire menu: a yogurt beet soup that was my favorite of the night – I wish I had a bucket in my freezer, a homemade wheat focaccia with a strong melted cheese and garlicky greens, a green spelt salad, potato gnocchi with asparagus and a wonderfully maple slathered apple tart with a bunch of cute and sweet fresh garden strawberries atop. It fed the two of us well. I also recommend an iced tea to wash it all down, or take advantage of the byob policy.
The menu will definitely quench the taste of the healthier crowd and even with a small list of items, has plenty (actually all during this visit) of options for veggies.
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directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (1948)The Red Shoes is a considered a classic for its beauty; not only in themes: the sacrifices one must make for both romantic love and love and passion about ones craft. It’s also gorgeous to look at. Technicolor has rarely been used to such dreamlike and stunning effect. The costumes, the choreography, Moira Shearer‘s red hair, a lovely score.. it’s little wonder that The Red Shoes inspired so many of it’s viewers to become dancers, designers (I distinctly see some Rodarte in her dirtied white gown), musicians, and film makers.
The centerpiece of the film is a surreal visual delight ballet, but the film, due to its cast, is more than its magnificent imagery. Shearer is incredible as the prima ballerina torn between the love of a composer and becoming the world’s greatest dancer. As it is a fairy tale the characters have no need to be realistic or complex, yet she and her puppet like impresario played by Anton Walkbrook are lively and fascinating.
Criterion Collection has recently restored the film and its available to watch with netflix instant.
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by Christian Lacroix (2007)If Christian Lacroix wants to talk fashion, I am listening, or in the case of the exquisite and inspiring Christian Lacroix on Fashion, I am looking. I found this all color coffee table book for a surprisingly cheap 25 at a local shop and have been gazing at the contents ever since. Any fan of incredibly detailed clothing and sartorial history will find themselves equally transfixed.
Divided into themes like “colour” ( “The red that I love to use everywhere… comes from my mother.. She always dressed me in red, or at least a touch of red, which had a cheering effect”), “Checks, plaids and tartans” (“Eccentric yet conservative, checks and their Scottish cousin, tartan, re the essential embodiment of British dandy chic.”), “ceremony”, “graphics”, “patchwork”, “cobwebs”, “black”… the book features short, colorful descriptions and beautiful photographs of beautiful clothing.
From ivory garden party dresses from the 1900s, capes from the 1880s, the work of Mainbocher, Chanel, Gres, YSL, Heim, Vionnet, Worth, Dior, Rabanne, Ungaro, Balenciaga and of course, many from Lacroix himself – there is so much style here it will make your toes curl with excitement.
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by Bananarama (1983)I never associate the Bananarama hit Cruel Summer with The Karate Kid, but it was the movie that put the song on the top ten. Not sure why the video for the lonely heartbroken pop song was about the girls working at a mechanics garage until the coppers chase them down, but it sure makes for early eighties, naive music video fun. Relive it just in time for your own, hopefully less cruel summer days.
The Great Stone FaceBuster Keaton has been called “as beautiful but as inhuman as a butterfly” a fitting and poetic description of my personal favorite comedian of his time and genre. While his life was not all roses (he struggled with alcoholism) his work was influential and bring happiness to many.
His heyday was the 1920s but he continued to work well into his later life. My personal favorite appearance is as one of the “Waxworks” in Sunset Boulevard.
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Style IconoclastThe irreverent style of Iris Barrell Apfel was introduced to me by my sister and we’ve both kept the ingeniously fashionable eccentric as a semi guarded secret. But the feeling of sharing has won over and I give you Miss Apfel, a lover of huge wild jewelry, exaggerated silhouettes, and inventive color combinations, a truly remarkable inspiration. A chance to wander through her closet would probably make me weep and pass out.
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424 W 43rd St and 295 Greenwich St.Our weekly Dungeons and Dragons games allow for lots of sharing of treats and recently our friend Joey brought along a wonderfully gooey Mississippi Mud Pie creation from the Little Pie Company, which has two locations in Manhattan. Made from scratch with fresh ingredients the pie makers have been in business since 1985, no small feat for any business, let alone a specialty store in the city but with pies this good, it’s little wonder they’ve become a new classic. I’ve also heard that end of the day, they offer discounts on their unsold goodies.
I will not resist the urge to spout a local newsworthy quip that the Little Pie Company is big on taste.
at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtI will always be giddily happy with any museum or gallery show that lets me ogle unbelievable bead work, divine draping, stunning silhouettes, and incredible fabrics. The vintage clothes, from the 1900s to the 1940s presented with great headpieces and backdrops at the Met’s American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity made me and friend Stacy dizzy with pleasure and whispering about details we col hardly contain our excitement about.
Still, like all the fashion oriented shows at the Met, it was not without its flaws. I can only guess that the Costume Institute is limited in its funds compared to other wings, because the shows are always boxed off into some very tight corridors that become at times wildly packed with visitors exclaiming that “no one would really wear that” (ha!). Any room with video playing gets instantly bottle-necked and with no room to really stand back from the garments, much patience is needed to get a good, unobstructed view.
We were a little surprised to find the first “Heiress” room filled exclusively with Worths (not that we’d say no to a Worth or, pun intended under estimate his Worth as one of the most amazing couturiers if his time) but there were other designers of the era. The room for the suffragettes pretty much screamed “boring!” – all the wool suits were pushed in the corners with little fanfare, but my biggest gripe was the abrupt and undignified end. After the dreamy Starlet clothes of the and 40s, we’re accosted by a bright screen of alternating images of modern beauties (like Jennifer Aniston, of course) and a blaring loop of the title sharing Lenny Kravitz song. After all this dimly lit beauty what were they trying to say? That true style ended in the over 60 years ago and now it’s all pop and noise? Probably not the intention.
Still, with the unusual limited time frame of the show (would have assumed The American Woman had some sartorial significance for the past few decades) and the limits of the space, once again The Met delivered with the actual clothes and styling, both amazing. Worth a visit before it closes August 1.
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To Reduce TearsI’m not sure if I am new to this trick or getting in on the big secret way late, but blogs have started circulating the simple solution to onion cutting tears. Simply soak the onion in water first. I tried the method and it worked though I hope to test it a few more times to become a truly convinced believer. Why don’t you give it a whirl and see if you’re as pleasantly surprised as I was.