Tuesday, 28 December 2010
more music
Today's album is: Suzie LeBlanc's La Mer Jolie. It's not anyone's favourite thing, strictly speaking. But I was trying to find on itunes a favourite album that Parker mentioned--David Greenberg's From Bach to Cape Breton--and I came across this instead. (I would have got Parker's album if it had been available but I was also in the mood for acadian music and wanted immediate gratification!). La Mer Jolie is great. I listened to it yesterday and I'm listening to it now as I type this. I also wondered if this is the same Suzie LeBlanc that Mary, Richard, and O'Brien knew in Montreal? At any rate, David Greenberg is on this album too and I can still look forward to finding Parker's album at some later date.
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
favourite ingredient + (bonus) favourite blog
Melissa's favourite ingredient is zatar and she gave me a lifetime supply for my birthday. (Here's wikipedia on zatar: "Za'atar (Arabic: زعتر, also romanized zaatar, za'tar, zatar, zatr, zattr, zahatar, zaktar or satar) is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera Origanum (Oregano), Calamintha (Basil thyme), Thymus vulgaris (Thyme) and Satureja (Savory). It is also the name for a condiment made from the dried herb(s), mixed together with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices.")
We mainly use it as a dipping spice with French bread and oil. But there are probably other variations as well. Does one cook with zatar, I wonder?
This summer Joel and I discovered another delicious mixture for dipping: dukkah. (And here's a web definition of dukkah: "Dukkah is an Egyptian spice mixture. It is often served with pita breadthat has been basted with olive oil. The bread is then dipped in the mixture. It has a variety of uses. You can use it on meats, rice, veggies - the possibilities are endless with dukkah!")
And here's where the bonus blog favourite comes in. Several of you mentioned favourite blogs and one of these blogs has a recipe for dukkah. See:www.heidilescanec.com
We bought it at the Farmer's market (I had no idea it was something I could make but now that the Farmer's market is closed I may try). We ate it non-stop for a few months and then settled down to a more normal pace. I was reading a Michael Pollan article in the NYT magazine recently in which he mentioned that dukkah is also great on fried eggs. I would never have thought of this and have not yet tried it. I can't say that it's an obvious combination but I will try it if we get organized enough to make a winter batch of dukkah. For now maybe I should just try zatar on eggs.
We mainly use it as a dipping spice with French bread and oil. But there are probably other variations as well. Does one cook with zatar, I wonder?
This summer Joel and I discovered another delicious mixture for dipping: dukkah. (And here's a web definition of dukkah: "Dukkah is an Egyptian spice mixture. It is often served with pita breadthat has been basted with olive oil. The bread is then dipped in the mixture. It has a variety of uses. You can use it on meats, rice, veggies - the possibilities are endless with dukkah!")
And here's where the bonus blog favourite comes in. Several of you mentioned favourite blogs and one of these blogs has a recipe for dukkah. See:www.heidilescanec.com
We bought it at the Farmer's market (I had no idea it was something I could make but now that the Farmer's market is closed I may try). We ate it non-stop for a few months and then settled down to a more normal pace. I was reading a Michael Pollan article in the NYT magazine recently in which he mentioned that dukkah is also great on fried eggs. I would never have thought of this and have not yet tried it. I can't say that it's an obvious combination but I will try it if we get organized enough to make a winter batch of dukkah. For now maybe I should just try zatar on eggs.
Sunday, 19 December 2010
favourite music
A lot of people suggested favourite music pieces. The favourite suggestion I listened to today was The National's "Boxer" album. I didn't expect to like it since I rarely like music that I haven't heard before (a shortcoming for which Joel often criticizes me!). But I did like this album. I will definitely listen to it again.
I have exactly zero musical talent (possibly, even below-zero since my singing contributes to bad sounds in the world). That said, I do love listening to music. I was thinking the other night (at a a party at Paul T's where seven or eight fiddlers sat in chairs in a circle and played music magically, stupendously, beautifully) that one of my top ten, perhaps even top five, favourite things is listening to people playing music in someone's house. Better still, playing music and singing. I love that. I don't know why the house element is so important except that I like the improvised, unpredictable, and intimate feel of it all.
I have exactly zero musical talent (possibly, even below-zero since my singing contributes to bad sounds in the world). That said, I do love listening to music. I was thinking the other night (at a a party at Paul T's where seven or eight fiddlers sat in chairs in a circle and played music magically, stupendously, beautifully) that one of my top ten, perhaps even top five, favourite things is listening to people playing music in someone's house. Better still, playing music and singing. I love that. I don't know why the house element is so important except that I like the improvised, unpredictable, and intimate feel of it all.
Friday, 17 December 2010
favourite poems
After a long hiatus, I'm back. At the rate I'm going I will only scratch the surface of my favourite things list in the remaining 250 or so days of my 50th year.
Here's a poem from Mary Oliver, the top poet on the favourite thing list (mentioned by at least four people). This is Bill A's favourite, "What is the Greatest Gift?":
What is the greatest gift?
Could it be the world itself—the oceans, the meadowlark,
the patience of the trees in the wind?
Could it be love, with its sweet clamor of passion?
Something else—something else entirely
holds me in thrall.
That you have a life that I wonder about
more than I wonder about my own.
That you have a life—courteous, intelligent—
that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own.
That you have a soul—your own, no one else’s—
that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own.
So that I find my soul clapping its hand for yours
more than my own.
I want to add my own favourite Mary Oliver poems but can't find my books. Later.
And a few days ago I bought Ann Carson's Nox. In fact, this book is what inspired me finally to return to my favourite things list. The book is stunningly beautiful visually and physically (it is a pleasure to hold and touch!) and the content is equally stunning and moving. It is, I think, the most beautiful (in every sense) new book I have ever seen and read.
Here's a passage from the book:"I have loved this poem [by Catullus] since the first time I read it in high school Latin class and I have tried to translate it a number of times. Nothing in English can capture the passionate, slow surface of a Roman elegy. No one (even in Latin) can approximate Catullan diction, which at its most sorrowful has an air of deep festivity, like one of those trees that turns all its leaves over, silver, in the wind."
Here's another line: "Something inbetween, something so deeply swaying."
And here's Carson's description of the book: "When my brother died I made an epitaph for him in the form of a book. This is a replica of it, as close as we could get."
Here's a poem from Mary Oliver, the top poet on the favourite thing list (mentioned by at least four people). This is Bill A's favourite, "What is the Greatest Gift?":
What is the greatest gift?
Could it be the world itself—the oceans, the meadowlark,
the patience of the trees in the wind?
Could it be love, with its sweet clamor of passion?
Something else—something else entirely
holds me in thrall.
That you have a life that I wonder about
more than I wonder about my own.
That you have a life—courteous, intelligent—
that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own.
That you have a soul—your own, no one else’s—
that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own.
So that I find my soul clapping its hand for yours
more than my own.
I want to add my own favourite Mary Oliver poems but can't find my books. Later.
And a few days ago I bought Ann Carson's Nox. In fact, this book is what inspired me finally to return to my favourite things list. The book is stunningly beautiful visually and physically (it is a pleasure to hold and touch!) and the content is equally stunning and moving. It is, I think, the most beautiful (in every sense) new book I have ever seen and read.
Here's a passage from the book:"I have loved this poem [by Catullus] since the first time I read it in high school Latin class and I have tried to translate it a number of times. Nothing in English can capture the passionate, slow surface of a Roman elegy. No one (even in Latin) can approximate Catullan diction, which at its most sorrowful has an air of deep festivity, like one of those trees that turns all its leaves over, silver, in the wind."
Here's another line: "Something inbetween, something so deeply swaying."
And here's Carson's description of the book: "When my brother died I made an epitaph for him in the form of a book. This is a replica of it, as close as we could get."
Friday, 19 November 2010
in airports
The day before yesterday I spent a lot of time doing one of the things on Michal's favourite things list:
Waiting for a plane in an airport.
I love that this is one of her favourite things and it certainly made my airport time more tolerable knowing that I was (without even trying to!) doing one of the things on her list. I flew to Texas through Detroit and Joel said that one of his favourite things in the Detroit airport is the fountain. Somehow I missed it. But only Joel could have a sublist of favourite things in American airports!
Waiting for a plane in an airport.
I love that this is one of her favourite things and it certainly made my airport time more tolerable knowing that I was (without even trying to!) doing one of the things on her list. I flew to Texas through Detroit and Joel said that one of his favourite things in the Detroit airport is the fountain. Somehow I missed it. But only Joel could have a sublist of favourite things in American airports!
Saturday, 13 November 2010
montreal +
I am at a conference in Montreal now but really, really I am here to try all the Montreal favourite things suggestions. There are so many! Three of you noted a favourite restaurant in Montreal, and many of you also noted favourite stores, and cafes and places to hang out.
Tonight I followed Jennifer’s suggestion and went to:
Lele da cuca 70 Marie Anne Est (teeny little Mexican-Brazilian restaurant)
It happens to be in my old neighbourhood and I welcomed the opportunity to go alone with a book after a day spent listening to panels and talking to people. I loved this restaurant! Of all the favourite things I have tried so far it might be my-most-favourite-of-the-favourites. What I loved about it: getting there (I walked up St Laurent which was lively and loud and festive and then turned on to Marie Anne which was as quiet and deserted as St Laurent was rowdy); walking in (the restaurant has such a unique feel to it—it’s small and cozy and you feel as if you have entered another world); the menu (it’s wacky and took me ages to figure out until the waitress explained it all to me); the food (I was hungry and it was perfect); and best of all, the end (my waitress asked me if I wanted dessert and I said no thanks and then she brought me the cheque and a chewy chocolate on a plate and said “a little gift for you” which I’m sure she says to everyone (and which probably sounds strange because of the translation) but which felt as if it was just for me. And then she returned and said, “the boss, he says you should have a coffee, a little gift for you, yes?” Just for me again! I want to move to Montreal so that I can eat there every night (although then what would I do with all my kitchen gadgets?)
On the conference front: there is an entire panel dedicated to Mad Men tomorrow. Really. I was amazed. This is a Victorian studies conference but, still, I’m looking forward to hearing how I can justify watching Mad Men as work.
Tonight I followed Jennifer’s suggestion and went to:
Lele da cuca 70 Marie Anne Est (teeny little Mexican-Brazilian restaurant)
It happens to be in my old neighbourhood and I welcomed the opportunity to go alone with a book after a day spent listening to panels and talking to people. I loved this restaurant! Of all the favourite things I have tried so far it might be my-most-favourite-of-the-favourites. What I loved about it: getting there (I walked up St Laurent which was lively and loud and festive and then turned on to Marie Anne which was as quiet and deserted as St Laurent was rowdy); walking in (the restaurant has such a unique feel to it—it’s small and cozy and you feel as if you have entered another world); the menu (it’s wacky and took me ages to figure out until the waitress explained it all to me); the food (I was hungry and it was perfect); and best of all, the end (my waitress asked me if I wanted dessert and I said no thanks and then she brought me the cheque and a chewy chocolate on a plate and said “a little gift for you” which I’m sure she says to everyone (and which probably sounds strange because of the translation) but which felt as if it was just for me. And then she returned and said, “the boss, he says you should have a coffee, a little gift for you, yes?” Just for me again! I want to move to Montreal so that I can eat there every night (although then what would I do with all my kitchen gadgets?)
On the conference front: there is an entire panel dedicated to Mad Men tomorrow. Really. I was amazed. This is a Victorian studies conference but, still, I’m looking forward to hearing how I can justify watching Mad Men as work.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
favourite kitchen gadgets
There was an article in today’s Globe & Mail on a favourite kitchen gadget that has prompted me to write on kitchen gadgets from my five-favourite-things list even though I haven’t tried them all.
First the G&M’s kitchen gadget: the Thermomix. Apparently it is 23 appliances in one great machine. There are many things it does that sound good to me—slow cooking, hollandaise sauce (okay, I rarely make this but I’d like to make it more and the article made it sound like perfection with the Thermomix), risotto (ditto re. not making it much before but I guess the trick of advertising is that I’m now envisioning my food-happy life after the thermomix)—and there are many things I probably wouldn’t use it for—blood pudding (the example from the article) immediately comes to mind. Despite the fact that the guy who writes the article says that the device’s ability to make yoghurt, mill grain, and churn butter are unlikely to appeal to everyone, I’m thinking: I would do these things too!
The catch: this appliance (one can hardly call it a gadget) is . . . $1,600. So much for risotto with freshly churned butter on the side. Not to mention the homemade bread (it didn’t mention bread-making actually but surely it does this too?) from freshly milled grain. (Here’s the link to the article:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/the-thermomix-23-appliances-in-1/article1792353/
On to more realistic favourite kitchen gadgets recommended by some of you:
1) the cuisanart smart stick (I have one of these and also use it all the time)
2) microplane (http://ca.microplane.com/MicroplaneClassicOriginalSeriesGraters.aspx) I haven’t used one of these but want to try.
3) ice-cream maker (I haven’t used one of these either; it seems complicated to me and I was amazed and impressed that this was someone’s favourite kitchen gadget)
My favourite kitchen gadget(s):
1) a wooden citrus juicer (it’s a stick with a ridged end that you rotate in the half’s of fruit for juice). Steve gave this to me and I love its simplicity. It’s not fancy (not $1,600, for example!) and it is efficient and easy to clean.
2) Cheese plane (for making super thin slices of hard cheeses)
First the G&M’s kitchen gadget: the Thermomix. Apparently it is 23 appliances in one great machine. There are many things it does that sound good to me—slow cooking, hollandaise sauce (okay, I rarely make this but I’d like to make it more and the article made it sound like perfection with the Thermomix), risotto (ditto re. not making it much before but I guess the trick of advertising is that I’m now envisioning my food-happy life after the thermomix)—and there are many things I probably wouldn’t use it for—blood pudding (the example from the article) immediately comes to mind. Despite the fact that the guy who writes the article says that the device’s ability to make yoghurt, mill grain, and churn butter are unlikely to appeal to everyone, I’m thinking: I would do these things too!
The catch: this appliance (one can hardly call it a gadget) is . . . $1,600. So much for risotto with freshly churned butter on the side. Not to mention the homemade bread (it didn’t mention bread-making actually but surely it does this too?) from freshly milled grain. (Here’s the link to the article:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/the-thermomix-23-appliances-in-1/article1792353/
On to more realistic favourite kitchen gadgets recommended by some of you:
1) the cuisanart smart stick (I have one of these and also use it all the time)
2) microplane (http://ca.microplane.com/MicroplaneClassicOriginalSeriesGraters.aspx) I haven’t used one of these but want to try.
3) ice-cream maker (I haven’t used one of these either; it seems complicated to me and I was amazed and impressed that this was someone’s favourite kitchen gadget)
My favourite kitchen gadget(s):
1) a wooden citrus juicer (it’s a stick with a ridged end that you rotate in the half’s of fruit for juice). Steve gave this to me and I love its simplicity. It’s not fancy (not $1,600, for example!) and it is efficient and easy to clean.
2) Cheese plane (for making super thin slices of hard cheeses)
Sunday, 7 November 2010
ariadne's chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate chip cookies are in my top five favourite foods (really).
And one of my top chocolate chip cookie experiences occurred this summer when Ariadne baked chocolate chip cookies for us at the cottage. It was dark, we were sitting outside in front of the fire, the air had a late summer chill to it, and Ariadne brought us warm chocolate chip cookies that were the best I've ever tasted: chewy and crisp at the same time, full of flavour, perfect thickness [which is to say, quite thin], perfect amount of chocolate chips. They're the sort of cookies that make you speechless with appreciation except that Ted was there and so I couldn't be speechless for long since he likes chocolate chip cookies almost as much as I do and so we had to compete for the remaining cookie.
I asked Photini for the recipe in September and ever since then I have made these cookies about once every 3-4 days (in fact, I just finished eating one now). It turns out that Ariadne's chocolate chip cookies need Ariadne herself. I've followed the recipe exactly and yet still cannot seem to capture that amazing cookie moment at the cottage.
I have been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe ever since I moved away from home (and away from mom's chocolate chip cookies) when I was eighteen. Mom gave me her recipe (turns out it was the Joy of Cooking) and yet, here too, my cookies were not the same as mom's. How is that possible?
Anyway, here's Ariadne's recipe (it is great, even if it can't be replicated without Ariadne herself)
Ariadne’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks butter softened
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
¾ tsp salt
1 tap baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips – we like to use the Ghiradelli 60% cocoa ones or we like to buy valrohna chocolate and chop it into smallish pieces/chunks
Preheat oven to 350
Mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla
In another bowl mix dry ingredients (except chocolate chips)
Mix wet and dry (but not too vigorously) and stir in chocolate chips
Put golf-sized portions on cookie sheet (ungreased) and bake
Trick is to start checking them after 6 minutes and then every minute thereafter. Its important to take them out before they look done – they’ll cook more once you take them out – let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes then remove them to a cooling rack.
On other matters, this blog has taken a blow from Mad Men. But now that I'm almost finished the second season (two seasons in two weeks!) and, thus, almost finished David's second boxed set, there's hope that I'll be able to hold off watching for a while and return to normal life again.
And one of my top chocolate chip cookie experiences occurred this summer when Ariadne baked chocolate chip cookies for us at the cottage. It was dark, we were sitting outside in front of the fire, the air had a late summer chill to it, and Ariadne brought us warm chocolate chip cookies that were the best I've ever tasted: chewy and crisp at the same time, full of flavour, perfect thickness [which is to say, quite thin], perfect amount of chocolate chips. They're the sort of cookies that make you speechless with appreciation except that Ted was there and so I couldn't be speechless for long since he likes chocolate chip cookies almost as much as I do and so we had to compete for the remaining cookie.
I asked Photini for the recipe in September and ever since then I have made these cookies about once every 3-4 days (in fact, I just finished eating one now). It turns out that Ariadne's chocolate chip cookies need Ariadne herself. I've followed the recipe exactly and yet still cannot seem to capture that amazing cookie moment at the cottage.
I have been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe ever since I moved away from home (and away from mom's chocolate chip cookies) when I was eighteen. Mom gave me her recipe (turns out it was the Joy of Cooking) and yet, here too, my cookies were not the same as mom's. How is that possible?
Anyway, here's Ariadne's recipe (it is great, even if it can't be replicated without Ariadne herself)
Ariadne’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks butter softened
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
¾ tsp salt
1 tap baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips – we like to use the Ghiradelli 60% cocoa ones or we like to buy valrohna chocolate and chop it into smallish pieces/chunks
Preheat oven to 350
Mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla
In another bowl mix dry ingredients (except chocolate chips)
Mix wet and dry (but not too vigorously) and stir in chocolate chips
Put golf-sized portions on cookie sheet (ungreased) and bake
Trick is to start checking them after 6 minutes and then every minute thereafter. Its important to take them out before they look done – they’ll cook more once you take them out – let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes then remove them to a cooling rack.
On other matters, this blog has taken a blow from Mad Men. But now that I'm almost finished the second season (two seasons in two weeks!) and, thus, almost finished David's second boxed set, there's hope that I'll be able to hold off watching for a while and return to normal life again.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
danny's favourite blogs
It seems apt to post Danny's favourite news blogs the day after the dismal American elections. Here they are (with Danny's comments!):
Favorite Website to Know What's Really Going On: wsws.org
If you want to know how the news effects the ordinary individuals without having to deal with over the top rhetoric, try the World Socialist Website news service. In particular, its regular column "Workers Struggles" keeps you abreast of strikes that take place in Canada and all over the world that are often not reported elsewhere.
Favorite Website When You're Tired Of All That Bad News: goodnewsnetwork.org
After a long hard day, one sometimes forgets how much good is going on the world every day. Try this site.
Neither website makes the election results any brighter (even the "good news" website can't do that!) but they are both great to know about.
Favorite Website to Know What's Really Going On: wsws.org
If you want to know how the news effects the ordinary individuals without having to deal with over the top rhetoric, try the World Socialist Website news service. In particular, its regular column "Workers Struggles" keeps you abreast of strikes that take place in Canada and all over the world that are often not reported elsewhere.
Favorite Website When You're Tired Of All That Bad News: goodnewsnetwork.org
After a long hard day, one sometimes forgets how much good is going on the world every day. Try this site.
Neither website makes the election results any brighter (even the "good news" website can't do that!) but they are both great to know about.
Monday, 1 November 2010
boqueria + favourite restaurants
Last weekend we were in New York for Louise’s 50th birthday and, happily for me, her birthday dinner was at a restaurant on my 5-favourite-things list: Boqueria. We went to the Soho location and had a prix fixe menu which was great because, just like my burger option at the other end of the restaurant spectrum, it meant that we didn’t have to make any decisions. The food was delicious.
Despite the delicious food, my favourite restaurant in New York is still Il Buco. I love the antiques and the wine and the olive oil tasting and the eclectic food; I also love that Bond Street is usually quiet and dark and deserted and so the restaurant is a surprise: you step from the stillness of the night into this warm and cozy and charming space.
My top 5 favourite restaurants anywhere: 1) the new place in Spain that Joel and I discovered on our bike trip this past March (it was also a tapas place and had a stupendous wine that I committed to memory so that I could buy again but have, alas, forgotten); 2) a tiny tiny restaurant perched in the side of a mountain in the middle of France (St Circ Lapopie) that you arrive at by dark twisting roads (that always used to make me sick but still were worth it) and that served an amazingly rich duck in prune juice dish that I would no longer eat but that, even so, is still one of the most rapturous things I have ever tasted (no doubt intensified by the fact that I haven’t been there in over 25 years); 3) a place in Florence that Marla told us about that is too expensive for ordinary people but that has a sidebar café which serves the same food; we had some tomato thing that is, to date, in the top five things I have ever eaten in my life; 4) a tapas place that Richard took me to in Oxford where everything we tasted was familiar but better than I’d ever tried before (the hummus was transformed into something otherworldly; ditto, impossibly, the cheese—shouldn’t manchego cheese just be manchego cheese? But it was better than other manchego’s I’ve tried; 5) the 4th Avenue Wine Bar—which will discredit me as any sort of judge of food since the food is fine but not like these other one-of-a-kind places but it is such a lovely place to sit and spend an evening and I need to mention some place in Ottawa! (Actually, there’s also the Zen Kitchen which is fabulous.)
I realize that I have only one name for my top favourite places; I will have to seek out the names of the other restaurants.
In New York I also went out early on Sunday morning to buy my favourite sticky bun in the world from Balthazar’s bakery on Spring Street. There was a line, people were boisterous and impatient, and there was a dog almost as tall as my shoulder waiting beside me--but the wait and the rowdiness was worth that first delicious bite.
And now I’m going to go downstairs and have some toast with butter and honey (my favourite “at home” snack).
Despite the delicious food, my favourite restaurant in New York is still Il Buco. I love the antiques and the wine and the olive oil tasting and the eclectic food; I also love that Bond Street is usually quiet and dark and deserted and so the restaurant is a surprise: you step from the stillness of the night into this warm and cozy and charming space.
My top 5 favourite restaurants anywhere: 1) the new place in Spain that Joel and I discovered on our bike trip this past March (it was also a tapas place and had a stupendous wine that I committed to memory so that I could buy again but have, alas, forgotten); 2) a tiny tiny restaurant perched in the side of a mountain in the middle of France (St Circ Lapopie) that you arrive at by dark twisting roads (that always used to make me sick but still were worth it) and that served an amazingly rich duck in prune juice dish that I would no longer eat but that, even so, is still one of the most rapturous things I have ever tasted (no doubt intensified by the fact that I haven’t been there in over 25 years); 3) a place in Florence that Marla told us about that is too expensive for ordinary people but that has a sidebar café which serves the same food; we had some tomato thing that is, to date, in the top five things I have ever eaten in my life; 4) a tapas place that Richard took me to in Oxford where everything we tasted was familiar but better than I’d ever tried before (the hummus was transformed into something otherworldly; ditto, impossibly, the cheese—shouldn’t manchego cheese just be manchego cheese? But it was better than other manchego’s I’ve tried; 5) the 4th Avenue Wine Bar—which will discredit me as any sort of judge of food since the food is fine but not like these other one-of-a-kind places but it is such a lovely place to sit and spend an evening and I need to mention some place in Ottawa! (Actually, there’s also the Zen Kitchen which is fabulous.)
I realize that I have only one name for my top favourite places; I will have to seek out the names of the other restaurants.
In New York I also went out early on Sunday morning to buy my favourite sticky bun in the world from Balthazar’s bakery on Spring Street. There was a line, people were boisterous and impatient, and there was a dog almost as tall as my shoulder waiting beside me--but the wait and the rowdiness was worth that first delicious bite.
And now I’m going to go downstairs and have some toast with butter and honey (my favourite “at home” snack).
Friday, 29 October 2010
mad men
I have been meaning to watch Mad Men for ages and so when it showed up on my favourite things list I had my excuse. Joel and I started watching season one last week (thanks to David who lent us his two boxed sets!). David warned us that it might take awhile to get into but we were immediately hooked. There are so many things to critique and applaud about this show but right now I'm mainly just dismayed by the speed of my addiction. I watched only two episodes and suddenly "needed" more. It makes me think of all those nineteenth-century novels that readers were reputed to crave "like a drug." So, too, my tv watching. We never watch tv and keep meaning to cancel our cable but whenever we start watching these series it seems we can't stop. 24 was a disaster. Joel and I would start watching after the kids went to sleep and continue watching into the night, thinking at 2am, 3am, etc, "just one more" until we could barely keep our eyes open. We've been able to control ourselves a bit better with Mad Men (I won't mention, however, what episode we're on after only a week of watching). I'll return to this topic again later when I've watched more and feel like commenting on the show itself. So far I'm struck by all that drinking and all that smoking and the polished zaniness of a housewife cooly shooting homing pigeons in her back yard with a rifle. It is chilling and absorbing and just writing this makes me want to watch more now. Good thing I never took up smoking.
Other series we've watched and liked: 24, Grey's Anatomy, NYPD Blue (years and years and years ago) and 2 other shows too embarrassing to name here (and the bar is already pretty low).
Other tv shows we watch: The Daily Show once every 2 months or so
Other series we've watched and liked: 24, Grey's Anatomy, NYPD Blue (years and years and years ago) and 2 other shows too embarrassing to name here (and the bar is already pretty low).
Other tv shows we watch: The Daily Show once every 2 months or so
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
favourite piece of punctuation
The favourite piece of punctuation is: the semi-colon (nominated by Larry). Oddly, this is my favourite piece of punctuation too. It reminds me of a conversation I had with Paisley back when I was in grad school and he scoffed at my love of semi-colons and I was daunted and doubted myself but prevailed and continue, still, to use semi-colons in excess.
The other competing piece of punctuation, from my point of view, is the parenthesis. The parenthesis is especially good for email (and blog postings as it turns out). Here too I have been criticized for my use of parentheses (also when I was a grad student and published my first book review and a prof I respected said, “too many parentheses!”) But here too I prevailed and overuse this form of punctuation as well.
The “piece of punctuation” is also my favourite category in the list of favourites. Other good categories include: favourite guitar chord (G, nominated by David P); favourite fruit picked fresh from the tree (fig, (Richard C); and most useful class (Grade nine typing, Steve G).
Weirdly, minutes after writing this post I rec’d the following email with references to the semi-colon and parenthesis:
"The constant use of the semicolon on any page, handwritten or printed, causes the eye to jump to the punctuation instead of concentrating on the subject expounded upon, just as a ‘river’ -- vertical space on a type page caused by inexpert setting -- disturbs vision. Where a semicolon can't be replaced by a simple comma, it is often better to rephrase the thought into two or more separate sentences for easier comprehension."
Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living (1952): 422
Secretarial handbooks ("office practices") may also be worth a look.
For fun, this --
The curves ( ).
"Rule. -- The curves are used to enclose a remark, reference, or explanation, that has little if any connection with the rest of the sentence... The enclosed expression is called a parenthesis. The same name is sometimes applied to the enclosing marks, but the term curves is shorter and more appropriate."
ex J Willis Westlake, How to Write Letters: A Manual of Correspondence, showing the correct structure, composition, punctuation, formalities, and uses of the various kinds of Letters, Notes, and Cards. Philadelphia: Sower, Potts & Co., 1882 [c1876] : 200.
The other competing piece of punctuation, from my point of view, is the parenthesis. The parenthesis is especially good for email (and blog postings as it turns out). Here too I have been criticized for my use of parentheses (also when I was a grad student and published my first book review and a prof I respected said, “too many parentheses!”) But here too I prevailed and overuse this form of punctuation as well.
The “piece of punctuation” is also my favourite category in the list of favourites. Other good categories include: favourite guitar chord (G, nominated by David P); favourite fruit picked fresh from the tree (fig, (Richard C); and most useful class (Grade nine typing, Steve G).
Weirdly, minutes after writing this post I rec’d the following email with references to the semi-colon and parenthesis:
"The constant use of the semicolon on any page, handwritten or printed, causes the eye to jump to the punctuation instead of concentrating on the subject expounded upon, just as a ‘river’ -- vertical space on a type page caused by inexpert setting -- disturbs vision. Where a semicolon can't be replaced by a simple comma, it is often better to rephrase the thought into two or more separate sentences for easier comprehension."
Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette: A Guide to Gracious Living (1952): 422
Secretarial handbooks ("office practices") may also be worth a look.
For fun, this --
The curves ( ).
"Rule. -- The curves are used to enclose a remark, reference, or explanation, that has little if any connection with the rest of the sentence... The enclosed expression is called a parenthesis. The same name is sometimes applied to the enclosing marks, but the term curves is shorter and more appropriate."
ex J Willis Westlake, How to Write Letters: A Manual of Correspondence, showing the correct structure, composition, punctuation, formalities, and uses of the various kinds of Letters, Notes, and Cards. Philadelphia: Sower, Potts & Co., 1882 [c1876] : 200.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
paul and rose's hike up "vroman's nose"
Still going back in time, the second thing I did from my “favourite-things” list was a hike up “Vroman’s Nose” in Middleburgh, New York about ten days after my birthday. The occasion was Paul’s 80th birthday which, happily, was celebrated only minutes away from this favourite hike of Paul and Rose’s.
It was truly stunning. The fall leaves were perfect and the view was spectacular (if a bit stomach lurching); we walked uphill on a winding path through trees and then came out on a plateau made of massive slabs of stone. Someone noticed that dates had been etched into the stone from the 1800s (1848 was the earliest date we saw) in a font very much unlike the more recent dates. There was a sheer drop to the valley below (it looked like miles below) and we had one scary moment when Farley bounded over to the side seemingly unaware of the perils of the edge. After that we put him on the leash.
My favourite story related to this hike: Allie wanted to see the sunrise from Vroman’s nose when she was around fifteen and so Rose, in her 70s, woke at 5am and took her on this hike, setting out when it was still dark. I was impressed!
My top 5 favourite hikes in no particular order: 1) hike to Galliweide in Wengen, Switzerland. It is breathtaking and gorgeous and feels unreal (all those cows wondering about, all those Swiss with their immaculate houses perched on green hills with frightening drops to the valley below [even more harrowing than Vroman’s Nose], all those fields and fields of wildflowers) and always makes me happy; 2) the walk (it’s not really a hike) in Tilden Park that takes you to a point overlooking San Francisco and the Bay Area (thanks, Seth, for introducing me to this); 3) the old Roman Way outside Varaire, France that goes forever and smells of honeysuckle; 4) the hike up to Keswick Tower at our family’s cottage in Muskoka; 5) hikes through the ravines of Toronto as a kid.
Actually, I’m just realizing that these hikes move back through time. I also realized that none of my top favourite hikes are in the Ottawa region. I really love hiking and walking in the Gatineau but for some reason don’t have a favourite hike there. I’m sure I’m forgetting others, but those are the hikes that come to mind for now.
I never did find out why the Vroman’s Nose hike was called Vroman’s Nose. Who is Vroman?
It was truly stunning. The fall leaves were perfect and the view was spectacular (if a bit stomach lurching); we walked uphill on a winding path through trees and then came out on a plateau made of massive slabs of stone. Someone noticed that dates had been etched into the stone from the 1800s (1848 was the earliest date we saw) in a font very much unlike the more recent dates. There was a sheer drop to the valley below (it looked like miles below) and we had one scary moment when Farley bounded over to the side seemingly unaware of the perils of the edge. After that we put him on the leash.
My favourite story related to this hike: Allie wanted to see the sunrise from Vroman’s nose when she was around fifteen and so Rose, in her 70s, woke at 5am and took her on this hike, setting out when it was still dark. I was impressed!
My top 5 favourite hikes in no particular order: 1) hike to Galliweide in Wengen, Switzerland. It is breathtaking and gorgeous and feels unreal (all those cows wondering about, all those Swiss with their immaculate houses perched on green hills with frightening drops to the valley below [even more harrowing than Vroman’s Nose], all those fields and fields of wildflowers) and always makes me happy; 2) the walk (it’s not really a hike) in Tilden Park that takes you to a point overlooking San Francisco and the Bay Area (thanks, Seth, for introducing me to this); 3) the old Roman Way outside Varaire, France that goes forever and smells of honeysuckle; 4) the hike up to Keswick Tower at our family’s cottage in Muskoka; 5) hikes through the ravines of Toronto as a kid.
Actually, I’m just realizing that these hikes move back through time. I also realized that none of my top favourite hikes are in the Ottawa region. I really love hiking and walking in the Gatineau but for some reason don’t have a favourite hike there. I’m sure I’m forgetting others, but those are the hikes that come to mind for now.
I never did find out why the Vroman’s Nose hike was called Vroman’s Nose. Who is Vroman?
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
hershel's favourite burger at The Works
Okay, this was a very specific category and, not surprisingly, there was no overlap with others and so I didn't have to be torn between whose favourite burger to choose. This was the first "favourite thing" I tried from my list, about 4 days after my birthday. Here's Hershel's recommendation:
FAVOURITE BURGER AT THE WORKS
Fruit Loop - No longer on the menu but can still be done as a special request: Turkey burger (or vegetarian substitute) on a whole grain bun, topped with Sweet and Spicy Sauce, Brie, Pear, Banana and Pineapple.
Sure enough, they no longer have this burger on the menu but our server was happy to have it made up. I chose the veggie option and it was delicious. One of the best things about this burger: I didn't have to read The Works list of burger options and hem and haw over the too-large and zany (mac and cheese and apples and peppers all somehow on a burger!) selection. I knew exactly what I was getting.
Favourite burger I've had in my life: all-time easy-winner favourite: Paul Webbers on the way up to our cottage as kids (it wasn't only the burger, of course, but also the place, and the fact we were going to the cottage, and the old trains we could play on, and the fries that came with it--but still I think it's probably up there with world's best burgers).
Maybe I should have read a few Mary Oliver poems so that my first favourite thing entry wouldn't be a burger . . .
FAVOURITE BURGER AT THE WORKS
Fruit Loop - No longer on the menu but can still be done as a special request: Turkey burger (or vegetarian substitute) on a whole grain bun, topped with Sweet and Spicy Sauce, Brie, Pear, Banana and Pineapple.
Sure enough, they no longer have this burger on the menu but our server was happy to have it made up. I chose the veggie option and it was delicious. One of the best things about this burger: I didn't have to read The Works list of burger options and hem and haw over the too-large and zany (mac and cheese and apples and peppers all somehow on a burger!) selection. I knew exactly what I was getting.
Favourite burger I've had in my life: all-time easy-winner favourite: Paul Webbers on the way up to our cottage as kids (it wasn't only the burger, of course, but also the place, and the fact we were going to the cottage, and the old trains we could play on, and the fries that came with it--but still I think it's probably up there with world's best burgers).
Maybe I should have read a few Mary Oliver poems so that my first favourite thing entry wouldn't be a burger . . .
introducing this blog
Thank you so much to everyone for sending me your five favorite things. The list is fabulous. It was a great way to welcome in a new decade (and even to make it relatively painless). In fact, I looked forward to turning fifty with the anticipation of five-favourite-things lists from so many friends and family. Perhaps “the fifties” will suddenly hit me in a frightening way but for now it feels much more like a privilege (to live this long!) than a fear (to be this old!).
This list also gives me an excuse to extend my birthday over the entire year. In this blog I’ll record my experiences with your favourite things as well as adding a few of my own along the way. If you want to add more favourite things please feel free. Before turning to the specific things in the next few blog postings here are some general comments on the “favourite things” list over all.
The first, most surprising thing, is that very very few of you sent book suggestions. I thought there would be more books than any other category but possibly there are fewer books. I did get a lot of amazing recipes. I want to make them all instantly. Although I probably should have requested favourite exercise routines as well. Happily, several people sent me recipes and titles of favourite recipe books (and so that is one category of book) which means that the recipes can multiply indefinitely as I explore others not mentioned. There were a handful of favourites that were repeated by more than one person. Here they are: several people noted Mary Oliver as a favourite poet; several people noted the Manx as a favourite brunch place (I haven’t been there in ages but now plan to go soon; before we had kids Joel and I used to go often and have the banana French toast [bananas somehow magically imbedded in the bread] which was easily the best French toast ever but then it was removed from the menu); and several people noted Paris—the streets, the food, the city in general—as a favourite place. The weirdest replication of all (to me, at any rate) was that two people gave favourite yoga poses and, of the millions (thousands?) of yoga poses out there they both chose exactly the same pose! (It was the pigeon, for the record).
I am writing this in a hotel room in Schoharie because so far this semester there has not been even a second of extra time for such frills. Everyone is at breakfast. Ben just came in the room to tell me excitedly that Maddie has PG Tips—which raises another favourite thing. Favourite black tea to drink every day: PG Tips. And so now prompted by the lure of favourite tea I’ll join the others and hopefully post of all of this sometime in the next few days.
Many weeks later. It perhaps does not bode well for my 50th year that it is 20 October and I have not yet started a blog I’d hoped to begin a few days after my birthday over a month ago. But it’s now set up and I’m looking forward to exploring so many of your favourite things. And I’m hoping that many of them will soon become my favourite things as well.
This list also gives me an excuse to extend my birthday over the entire year. In this blog I’ll record my experiences with your favourite things as well as adding a few of my own along the way. If you want to add more favourite things please feel free. Before turning to the specific things in the next few blog postings here are some general comments on the “favourite things” list over all.
The first, most surprising thing, is that very very few of you sent book suggestions. I thought there would be more books than any other category but possibly there are fewer books. I did get a lot of amazing recipes. I want to make them all instantly. Although I probably should have requested favourite exercise routines as well. Happily, several people sent me recipes and titles of favourite recipe books (and so that is one category of book) which means that the recipes can multiply indefinitely as I explore others not mentioned. There were a handful of favourites that were repeated by more than one person. Here they are: several people noted Mary Oliver as a favourite poet; several people noted the Manx as a favourite brunch place (I haven’t been there in ages but now plan to go soon; before we had kids Joel and I used to go often and have the banana French toast [bananas somehow magically imbedded in the bread] which was easily the best French toast ever but then it was removed from the menu); and several people noted Paris—the streets, the food, the city in general—as a favourite place. The weirdest replication of all (to me, at any rate) was that two people gave favourite yoga poses and, of the millions (thousands?) of yoga poses out there they both chose exactly the same pose! (It was the pigeon, for the record).
I am writing this in a hotel room in Schoharie because so far this semester there has not been even a second of extra time for such frills. Everyone is at breakfast. Ben just came in the room to tell me excitedly that Maddie has PG Tips—which raises another favourite thing. Favourite black tea to drink every day: PG Tips. And so now prompted by the lure of favourite tea I’ll join the others and hopefully post of all of this sometime in the next few days.
Many weeks later. It perhaps does not bode well for my 50th year that it is 20 October and I have not yet started a blog I’d hoped to begin a few days after my birthday over a month ago. But it’s now set up and I’m looking forward to exploring so many of your favourite things. And I’m hoping that many of them will soon become my favourite things as well.
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