The High Line, New York City

post from eggbeater on 27 November 2009 07:53:00 PM. © eggbeater

The High Line is a park, is nerdy, is hip, is a railroad bed, is a new perspective of lower Manhattan, and the Hudson River too, is art, is life, is the sky above and the pavement below, all a bustle, is quiet, is stone, is plants, is birds and crickets too, is grasses, is pebbles, is design, is random, is history, is New York City, is a gallery, is like nothing I have ever seen before, is radical, is majestic, is the work of thousands of regular people, and special ones too, is open to the public, is a once-in-a-generation piece, as my friend Maury Rubin said recently.

If you live in NY or anywhere near NYC and you have not been to the High Line yet, you have no excuse worth breathing life into. Just go. And if you have New York City on your future plans, fit this beautiful space in.

If you're so jaded to think you've seen and done it all already, go somewhere else and leave those of us crushed out on the High Line alone to enjoy it with each other.

The High Line is my new favorite person, place & thing. I go in the rain and sun and in cool and on warmer days.

I went last week and took too many photos. It was rainy, very cold, and almost completely empty.

There are four sets on flickr that, especially if you go in order, will give you a very close idea of what it feels like to look ahead, side-to-side and all around the High Line...

one, 2, THREE & f o u r.

Read The Full Article:
http://eggbeater.typepad.com/shuna/2009/11/the-high-line-new-york-city.html

Digg this

Arroz con Pollo ~ Uptown Style

post from Sebastian Cooks on 27 November 2009 07:28:00 PM. © Sebastian Cooks

This was considered the “glamorous” version of the Saturday night special.

1 medium bell pepper, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
3 TBL olive oil
1 PKG frozen peas, cooked
3 c. water
pinch saffron
1 Medium frying chicken
1 1/2 c. rice
1/2 small can pimentos

Saute pepper, onion, tomato and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add water, saffon and 1 clove. Add chicken and rice. Cover and cook over low heat until chicken is tender. Check occasionally to prevent sticking. A little dry sherry may be added. Serve on hot platter surrounded by cooked peas and pimento.

Read The Full Article:
http://sebastiancooks.com/arroz-con-pollo-uptown-style/

Digg this

Baked Rice for a Truchas Potluck ~ Mom’s 20
Minute Casserole

post from Sebastian Cooks on 27 November 2009 07:18:00 PM. © Sebastian Cooks

When you get invited on the spur of the moment to a potluck in the tiny New Mexico town of Truchas, you need fast food. This one uses leftovers and Lucy’s not-so-secret ingredients: 4 cans from her pantry.

2 c. cooked rice
1 small can of mushrooms
1 can of beef consomme
1 small can Ortega’s chopped green chile
1 can french fried onions

Mix all together and put in a baking dish. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

from Lucy Gutierrez

Read The Full Article:
http://sebastiancooks.com/baked-rice-for-a-truchas-potluck-moms-20-minute-cassero
le/

Digg this

Thanksgiving: Pioneer Woman's Mushrooms Stuffed
with Brie

post from Family, Friends and Food on 27 November 2009 05:17:00 PM. © Family, Friends and Food

Read The Full Article:
http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-pioneer-womans-mush
rooms.html

Digg this

Very Vietnamese

post from The Gourmet Goddess on 27 November 2009 02:44:00 PM. © The Gourmet Goddess

Michael and I are in the midst of planning a trip to Vietnam (and Cambodia) in February 2010 and I must admit that the last few days of reading about the place, talking about it and looking at pictures of it has inspired me to post today's recipe. I am fortunate enough to live in a place that has a large Vietnamese population, which means I am very spoilt for Vietnamese restaurants, butchers, fishmongers, coffee houses and markets. Ingredients are very cheap and accessable and I eat Vietnamese food regularly. It is by far my favourite Asian cuisine- light, full of flavour and beautiful textures. I'm very excited about the prospect of eating Vietnamese food in Vietnam and seeing how different (or not) it is from what is made here by the Vietnamese in my own neighbourhood.

In warm weather, there is nothing nicer than a fresh Vietnamese salad, full of fresh herbs, chilli and the tang of lime and fish sauce (Nam Pla) My recipe today also includes prawns, baby calamari and lean pork with lightly pickled vegetables. The dressing is based on Nuoc Cham, which is a common Vietnamese dipping sauce served with a whole range of dishes, spring rolls, fried chicken and salads. Today's dish would make a lovely addition to a BBQ, plated individually as an entree or even as something different for your Christmas lunch table. You can prepare all of the components a few hours ahead and then cook the pork and seafood at the last minute and just assemble and dress the dish at the last minute. As always, go as light or as heavy on the chilli as you wish. I love this salad - hope you do too.

Vietnamese pork and seafood salad

You will need: (For the salad) 2 pork chops trimmed and boned, 6 raw king prawns peeled and cleaned,1 medium or 2 small Calamari cleaned and cut into rings, 20cm piece lemongrass cut into thin slices, 3 chopped cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons vegetable/peanut oil, 1 teaspoon chilli oil, salt, pepper, A handful each of fresh coriander, mint, snowpea/bean sprouts, 1 small cucumber, 1 small carrot, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon roasted unsalted peanuts, lime wedges to serve.

(For the dressing) 2 tablespoons each of fish sauce (Nam Pla), rice vinegar and palm or coconut sugar. 1 - 2 redchillies finely chopped, juice of 1 lime.

Method: In a food processor or mortar and pestle (I use the latter - less hassle) combine the lemongrass and garlic with a generous pinch of salt. The mixture does not have to be fine - this is a rustic dish, so it can be quite coarse. Add the vegetable and chilli oil. Divide the mixture in half and combine with the pork and the seafood in seperate bowls. Cover and allow to marinate for at least half an hour (or overnight)

Whisk together the dressing ingredients until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

De-seed the cucumber and chop into juliennes along with the carrot. Combine with the rice vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside to pickle for half an hour.

When you are ready to serve, pan fry or BBQ the pork and allow it to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thin strips. In a very hot pan, hotplate or wok, cook the seafood - this will only take a couple of minutes. Be careful not to overcook it.

Drain the excess rice vinegar from the vegetables. Combine all of the ingredients together, add the dressing and serve immediately with wedges of lime, peanuts and extra chilli.

*

Read The Full Article:
http://gourmetgoddessaust.blogspot.com/2009/11/very-vietnamese.html

Digg this

Ugh.

post from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on 27 November 2009 02:01:00 PM. © The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

Ugh. Just ugh. That's how life's been for me the past few days.

It always seem like when it rains, it pours on me.

Illness, injury, and general all around crappiness tend to come in bunches with me. It all started with Evan's broken arm. Then a small trickle of illnesses, and problems started to creep their way into my life.

Take Tuesday for instance. I woke up with a really stiff shoulder. Probably just slept on it wrong I thought. It'll pass.

It didn't pass. By Tuesday night I was in agony. I was crying in bed. Crying. That's how much it hurt. I think I have a fairly high tolerance for pain, but this was bad. Hot poker in the shoulder, blaring, deep pain. I was up all night.

Wednesday, my day off, my day to prep for Thanksgiving found me at the doctors office where I was told that I pulled a tendon in the shoulder. I was given some pain meds, told to ice it every 20 mins, and take it easy. HA! "Take it easy". It the day before Thanksgiving? How in the world could I take it easy??

We trudged along with Thanksgiving. My husband pitching in double time and our friend Mitch coming over early to help peel and chop. It all got done. We enjoyed the day. I popped some more pain meds and conked out on the couch early. Even with my "broken wing", we managed.

Speaking of broken wings, Evan's cast came off last week.

Gram and I took him to the Orthopedic doctors office and we were in and out in about a half hour.

Dawn was our cast remover.

She did a great job.

She even let Evan use the cast plier thingy himself, and yes I'm pretty sure that is the technical name for that tool - cast pliers thingy. Look it up.

It was starting to get a little grungy. Ewwww.

Evan was pretty happy to finally have it off his arm, but still can't take gym for another 3 weeks.

That bummed him out a little. Hopefully when we return in 3 weeks for a final checkup, he'll be able to participate in gym class again.

For now we're using lots of cream to help moisturize his dried up little arm.

So last night, even in my drugged up stupor, I sat back and reflected on the past few months, and reminded myself, that we made it through it all. We made it through broken bones, and fevers, and coughs and snot, and hectic work days, and the endless homework projects, and long weekend projects. As I laid there, eyes half closed, I thought about how we always seem to come together. We trudge through. We help each other, we make it right. So of all the things I have to be thankful for, during this week of thankfulness, I'm truly blessed for the 3 men in my life who are always help me make it through, especially during the "ugh" moments of life.

Read The Full Article:
http://thecuttingedgeofordinary.blogspot.com/2009/11/ugh.html

Digg this

December is Giveaway Month!

post from The Hungry Mouse on 27 November 2009 12:05:00 PM. © The Hungry Mouse

Read The Full Article:
http://www.thehungrymouse.com/home/2009/11/27/december-is-giveaway-month/

Digg this

Brooklyn Taco Truck

After playing skeeball at Full Circle Bar in Brooklyn, I was on my way home and somehow found the Brooklyn Taco Truck:I have no idea how I found it (more like Lou found it and I was very happy and suddenly VERY hungry). We ordered two tacos - one chicken and one pork:Their tacos [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://gracenotesnyc.com/2009/11/27/brooklyn-taco-truck/

Digg this

Eggplant & Artichoke Heart Galettes w/ Rosemary,
Garlic, Chili & Goat Cheese

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/just-making-noise/~3/3GFJzQexLN8/eggplant-artichok
e-heart-galettes-w.html

Digg this

Persimmons (Hurma)

One of the tastiest fruits, persimmon is among the top of my favorite fruits. Persimmons can come in different varieties. The most common types are the tomato shaped or the heart shaped ones. Both types of persimmons are astringent prior to ripening and become extremely sweet once ripened.

When the tomato shaped persimmon is firm, usually the outer peel has a bright orange color or sometimes still greenish color while its flesh contains numerous super tiny, dense, brown spots which make the color of the persimmon flesh brownish. The denser the brown spots on the flesh, the sweeter the fruit. The fruit also may have from 4-8 brown seeds, although in some varieties, the seeds maybe non-existent or so small and fresh that they are unnoticeable. I think it depends on the variety of the fruit. This type can be consumed while firm or after softened.

The heart shaped ones can look ripened on the outside with a bright orange color, but still astringent inside. In order to lose its astringency, it has to become extremely soft. Similar to unripe dates, if you set unripe persimmons at room temperature or under the sun, they will ripen off the tree. In my opinion, the tomato shaped persimmons with the brown spot flesh are the best ones.

Persimmon branches and persimmon fruits also can make beautiful centerpieces at your home. I personally would never pay money for the branches with the fruit for my vase, but if I had a tree, I certainly use them to make my home beautiful.

In the area I grew up in Southern Turkey, persimmon trees grow easily. My father has many trees in his garden (again, I never had the chance to taste them). Persimmons were abundant while I was growing up and enjoyed them very much. I can eat many persimmons and never get sick of them. They are harvested between October and December in the Mediterranean region.

Persimmons also grow in Texas; in fact we went persimmon picking last year with some friends at a persimmon farm. My initial plan was to write about it last year, but since we found the owner of the farm really grouchy and rude to his customers (other customers too) I changed my mind, so I created this post instead.

Similar to figs and pomegranates, they are very expensive in the United States. However, since persimmons are very popular with Asians since persimmons probably originated in Asia, Asian markets sell them at a much cheaper price. Instead of paying from $2.50 to $2.99 per persimmon at regular markets, at Asian stores you can find them at $1.50 to $1.95 per pound! Even here in Calgary, I went to Chinatown one day during lunch hour to search for persimmons. I found them at a very reasonable price.

Personally, I have never attempted to cook or bake with persimmons. Occasionally, I plan for cooking with them, but we end up eating the fruit raw as they are which I really enjoy. Probably the nutrients in the fruit are maximized when the fruit is raw. They are rich in antioxidants, vitamin A and vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron and may contain many other health benefits.

If you are not familiar with this fruit and never had it, do not miss any opportunity to taste it. Enjoy.

Note: The persimmons in both pictures are different. The ones with the bright color were purchased last year at the farmer?s market in Houston. The ones with lighter color and cut in half are purchased from Calgary?s Chinatown. The persimmons purchased at the Chinatown were more delicious.

Read The Full Article:
http://mediterraneanturkishfoodpassion.blogspot.com/2009/11/persimmons-hurma.html