What's That Funk?

Rutabaga! So simple, so delicious. Rutabaga or yellow turnip is in the cabbage family and like cabbage it is naturally flavorful, easy to prepare, and stinks a bit. Here's a recipe in a few steps. 

Peel It

Chop & Rinse 

Boil, Drain, Mash, & Season with Salt, A Touch of Sugar, & a Little Butter. 

Rutabaga! So simple, so delicious. Rutabaga or yellow turnip is in the cabbage family.

Winter Heat.

Jersey St btwn Broadway & Lafayette.

Merci Beaucoup. Les Fleurs Sont Jolies.

Shrimp & Strings in Black Bean Sauce.

So you may remember I made a huge batch of black beans a few weeks back. I used most in a veggie chili and had a hankering to make an Asian black bean sauce with the rest. Funny enough, there aren't many recipes for it online. I whipped together a pretty good one on the fly. I warmed the black beans with fish sauce and roasted red chili paste. The sauce & paste are rather salty so be gentle with them. I let the ingredients simmer and mashed the beans up once they became softer. Add water the mix becomes more of a paste than a sauce. So once it was all good & wicked, I threw in the shrimp and string beans. Very delicious & not too backbreaking. 

Harlem Carnival.

Electric Night.

Hydrants on 125th & 12th Ave

Happy Valentine's Mes Amis, Mon Cheris, et Mon Amours.

Je t'aime Ms. Christiana

Let Love Live!

Valentine's Day is finally here which means love week is coming to an end. {sadness} I hope you all enjoyed the peaks and valleys of, "This crazy little thing called love." I think it's best to end on a high note because after all I am a romantic in spite of everything. Here are some of loves most lasting emotions and side effects.

Hope


Transformation



Stability


Passion


Everlasting Love

Humility . . .

Regrets & Reflections . . .

"I know that with love comes pain, but why did I have to love so much?"

Fading Out . . .

Absence Leads to Agony . . .

"True love burns the brightest. But the brightest flames leave the deepest scars."

"Spiteful words can hurt your feelings but silence breaks your heart."

Longing . . .

"If I never met you, I wouldn't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't miss you. But I did, I do, and I will."

Eat Your Heart Out!

First and foremost, let us please bow our heads a give a moment of silence to my hand mixer. Poor thing died while stirring the batter. I've had it since college and it gave me some good years. Especially considering I bought it for $10 at a CH Martin in New Brunswick. You've in a better place now, but your legacy lives on. RIP.

So Saturday morning I decided to finally bust out my heart shaped mini cake pans. I don't know what absurdly sappy mood I was in the day I bought those cake pans, but they are kinda fun. And it was my friends birthday which was another good excuse. {Joyeux Anniversaire Garan!} I took a basic chocolate cake recipe from the back of a Toll House container and I improved it. One tip for keeping the moisture in vegan baking is to use natural applesauce instead of eggs. 1/4 of a cup of natural applesauce {I stress natural for a reason} equals 1 egg.

Another tip is to not over fill the cake pans. I remembered that about 10 minutes after I put them in the oven. The end result is not too terrible but I had to trim them down a bit.

Whoops!

I made a cream cheese frosting to top it off. So pretty!

 

Adoration . . .

“Love is not blind; it simply enables one to see things others fail to see.” ~ Anonymous 

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” ~ Brandi Snyder

“You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.” ~ Anonymous 

Love Week Begins . . .

Valentine's Day is 7 days away. For many it's either one of the best or worst holidays of the year. I usually don't pay it much mind if I'm single, but shit, I'm really dreading this year. Perhaps because I'm getting older and having a valentine is supposed to be a done deal by now. Whatever the reason, the yoga side of me decided not to approach the day with resentment or hostility. So I'm going to dedicate my blog this week to the peaks and valleys of love. Because just like Valentine's Day, love itself can be the best and worst thing to happen to person. I'm starting with my absolute favorite type: fearless love. There are so many things to be scared of in this world, natural disasters, terminal illnesses, boring people,  but my dear friends, love should not be one of them.

42nd & Bryant Park

Tichy @ ICP

On Friday I went back to ICP for a closer look at what's new. I decided to only view one show at a time instead of chugging them down like a freshman at a frat party. It was definitely the way to go, I was a million times more attentive and the work left a lasting impression. So, looking at the images, it's easy to get the sense that Miroslav Tichy was some creepy voyeur who stalked the Czech city of Kyjov. Many of the photos are of the backsides of women from the neck down, distant shots at the local pool, and blurry nudes. One image that stood out was of two teenagerish girls staring at the camera directly. They looked quite uncomfortable and put off. I remember observing their faces and thinking, "Tichy be crazy looking." And then I watched a short doc about the eccentric old photographer and my suspicions were confirmed. He's a wild looking old man with dirty finger nails, tattered clothes, and long untamed gray hair. His house is of the Grey Gardens sort, dilapidated with food, art, & filth scattered about. I am glad I could look past his facade because that cooky old man did inspire me. Tichy and I share a similar perspective on photography and art in general. He used pretty much anything he could get his hands on from old oil cans to toilet paper rolls to make cameras. {see photo above} Several of them are also on view.  The way he worked reinforced to me that the creativity of the artist is more important than the tools used to produce their art. Please be sure to take some time out to watch the documentary, it's definitely worth the time. Don't forget ICP is free Fridays from 5pm-8pm.

Paula Deen is Seriously Trying to Kill All of Us!

Paula Deen, shit this lady wants us to die of choking on huge deep fried stick of butter. I came across this grossness on the food network while looking for a frosting recipe. Seriously, since when does a cake need to be deep fried? The photo doesn't even look appetizing. Shame on the Food Network for giving this crazy lady a green light. Here's more nonsense:




Dude, donuts for buns? How is she still alive and not 800lbs? This next one is, sorry, f'n hilarious!

Speaking of Simpler Times . . .

I finally watched The Last Picture Show on Saturday, it had been on my queue forever. I'm not exactly sure how it ended up there but I'm so glad I finally got around to it.  The film is definitely more character than plot driven. It doesn't have many high peaks or melodrama, but it successfully depicts the grayness of life in a dying town. there are many heart clenching moments and events but the characters accept these tragedies as part of everyday life. I grew up in a small nothing town in Jersey and although I wasn't the least bit happy there, and ostracized quite a bit, I do feel for and understand the people I grew up around. Watching The Last Picture Show reminded me of that connection. I found myself pondering, what type of life can you make for yourself when you're poor, white, and disenfranchised? What is your imprint on the world? What's your existence worth? Okay so if that's a bit too heavy for you, watch it for the amazing cast! Many of the actors were just getting their start in the picture business. Stellar performances by: Ellen Burstyn, Timothy Bottoms, Cybill Shepard, Jeff bridges, Randy Quaid, & Chloris Leachman to name a few. Peep the trailer:

Pho Toe Shows

Hey Photo fans, here's some info for two interesting shows I peeped last week:

The first is at ICP, and I have to admit I spent more time gabbing it up and laughing at some hilarious outfits than taking in the show, but hey it was the opening and It was too crowded to really study the work. I did like what I saw and the shows combine two of my deepest loves, Paris & black & white photography. Don't forget, it's free Friday's from 5-8pm.

The second show is called Versus at Hous Projects Gallery, in what I would call Chinatown, but it's probably considered SoHo or NoLiTa or something other than Chinatown. It's an interesting exhibit that compares/clashes the work of two photographers. Some of the comparisons work better than others. It's worth seeing either way and hey you can do like I did and stock up on some vegetarian Gong Bao Chicken at Mah Way Vegetarian when you're finished. I used to shop there when I lived and Jersey and first moved to The City. It's literally right around the corner and down the street. {It all comes back to food, right?}

St Nick's Pub.

t Nick's Pub is an intimate, unpretentious, jazz spot with history seeping from it's walls. It's easy to pass by the rickety door on 149th & St Nick and pay it no mind.  For me, in a time of high flying singers and robot performers {anyone watch The Grammy's?} there is something pure and refreshing about listening to artists on a small stage with a few spot lights share their talent. It's this type of simplicity that makes me proud to call Harlem home. To live in a community where strangers wish you Happy New Year as you pass them on the street, or will help you carry a heavy package to your apartment is truly priceless in this unforgiving city. I can only hope that St Nick's Pub has a few more good years in her. 

Be sure to stop by Devin's Seafood if you get hankering for some tasty fish. It's right on St Nick between 147th & 148th. I had such a lovely chat with the owner Wally, who is quite the world traveler and very friendly.

Classic Rock Monday.

Some people may be surprised to know, I'm actually a Black Sabbath fan. Listen, I haven't been to Ozz Fest or anything, but about 10 years ago a friend of mine lent me a cd of their greatest hits and I was hooked. What can I say, they're wicked and their explosive energy also translates into good cardio. Here are two of my favorite songs. Bill Ward is so ferocious on the drums in the first clip. He may be one of my new favorites after Keith Moon & Animal. {Yes, the muppet.} 

 

Whoa, peep little Jack Osbourne! Okay this video is a bit cheesy but it was the 80's. Regardless, it's a beautiful song about regret & transition.