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May 29, 2006

Happy Memorial Day!

Posted by csageday at 11:57 PM | Comments (1)

May 25, 2006

All Apple, All the Time

I have not yet been to the fancy new 24/7 (24/7!) Apple store on Fifth, but I just read David Pogue's NYT review of the MacBooks. I obviously haven't been keeping up with my Mac porn lately (although I went online to see the rest of these ads)-- I didn't know these all came with built in cameras!? And sleek keyboard and mouse designs and a hundred other little innovations (no start up time -- a magnet instead of a latch, which is magical all on its own since I'm still scared of holding magnets near computers). It may finally be time to upgrade my G4 -- especially since iPhoto for me is slower than the elevators at the Port Authority.

Posted by csageday at 07:07 PM | Comments (0)

NYC Food Ramble

There are a number of places on this list of NYC tourist food recommendations that we haven't been to. For instance: Babbo, The Spotted Pig, or Snack Taverna. On the other hand, we did go to Bouchon Bakery for dinner last Friday (Derek is a genius -- it's always packed for lunch but getting seated for dinner is no problem, so we went pre-movie). The duck confit sandwich we had was heavenly. It came with escarole sauteed in duck fat on a toasted, house-made potato bun. The duck was very tender and flavorful -- too bad it's a special and not on the regular menu.

In other news, when Sara came to visit we all took ourselves to Saul on Smith street. Derek and I have been there a few times for the prix fix, and every time, the food has been excellent. It's our favorite restaurant on Smith, beating out The Grocery and Patois, although we do have a thing for Zaytoon's. They have a limited menu, but whatever they do, they do very well. We've had amazing duck there a couple of times, and I remember some wonderful appetizers. That said, I can't say I was terribly pleased with the squab I had on Sunday -- it was basically raw -- just braised (or whatever that cooking term is -- seared? This isn't actually a food blog, despite evidence to the contrary, and I don't know these things). Everyone else's dish was fantastic, though -- diver scallops, lamb, rabbit.

And in the completely-unrelated-breaking-news category: Juste Milieu has determined, through an exhaustive analysis, that Madonna is a right-wing nut.

Posted by csageday at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)

May 24, 2006

Celebrate Brooklyn

The new Celebrate Brooklyn schedule is up and it looks great -- can't wait to pack a picnic and see TV on the Radio, or Dracula with Phillip Glass.

Posted by csageday at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)

May 23, 2006

Remember Asher?

I just discovered a whole bunch of extra Asher photos on my camera -- this iPhoto view seemed like a good summary of Asher's killer personality. I should probably have assembled this properly in Photoshop, but I'm lazy so it's a screenshot.

Posted by csageday at 11:08 PM | Comments (2)

1990 Redux

It occurs to me that this past weekend was mostly devoted to the year 1990. First, there was the whole gymnastics movie thing, and then I had a reunion with my Spanish exchange-student-sister Sara, from Santander, Spain (she's living in Mexico City for now and came for a visit). Here we are, then and now:

I went over to Spain in seventh grade as part of an exchange program and cried my eyes out for the first week, then had a great time the week after that (I discovered Spanish food). Sara came over here the next fall and hated the food, understandably, but discovered American-style mall shopping (you can tell that her fashion sense is a good deal more developed than mine. In both photos, actually.). More photos on flickr.

Posted by csageday at 12:07 AM | Comments (6)

May 22, 2006

Straddlebacks, Glide Kips, Layouts, and Back-handsprings Galore

Time for a self-indulgent, nostalgic post about my childhood. I spent roughly 15 hours a week doing gymnastics in elementary school. I loved the sport with a passion, even though my motivation and coordination didn't quite live up to my Mary Lou Retton aspirations. I was scared to death of jumping backwards (over a bar, onto a beam, etc.), so I didn't take naturally to higher-level competitive routines. Still, I could do an impressive series of flips and spinning things (albeit with less-than-perfect form), and I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn as much as I did. I can still walk around on my hands and am occasionally overtaken by the urge to do cartwheels on sidewalks, on the beach, or in the office late at night. Here's a polaroid (the only one I could find at the moment) of me on the beam -- I'm the one on the left in the more-tasteful-but-less-80s-gym-chic leotard.

Here's another fuzzy polaroid. So, when Derek sent me a link to the trailer for Stick It, I squealed like a nine-year-old winning all-arounds at a regional meet. It's an entire movie about gymnastics -- good gymnastics, instead of stupid boring plot lines with the occasional routine done by a double. The movie has preteen-team dynamics, the horrors of conditioning (we didn't do skin-the-cats, like they do in the movie, but we did something else on the bars -- "around the clocks" maybe, and endless rounds of painfully slow abdominal strength drills), and every little detail about the sport that a former gymnast would appreciate. There are references to rips (and rips getting rips), horrible judges, absurd choreography (our choreographer would always say, "with pizazz!!"), bad leotards, etc. The actors in this movie are clearly gymnasts -- they know the pre-vault running style, how to "present" to the judges, and how to properly pick a leotard wedgie.

We finally saw it on Friday and I feel like I'm ten again and I want to see it at least 20 times more, if only to see the routines again. It's wonderful to see perfectly-executed moves that you tried like hell to do but could never quite figure out. I should mention that the theater we saw it in was filled with preteen (and possibly adult) gymnasts -- there was a good deal of cheering and shouted encouragement during routines. It was somewhat like a sporting event, actually, which was fine because it meant I wasn't the only one there going nuts about how COOL Haley was and how omigod AWESOME her dismount was. I think Derek was amused.

I'm terrifically biased, but I have to say the plot wasn't exactly as predictable as you might expect, and while the movie has some iffy acting (I'll take bad acting over bad gymnastics any day), it's fun (and funny) and offers the best look I've seen at a sport filled primarily with pre-pubescent girls doing death-defying stunts.

The movie put me so much in my ten-year-old mindset that I did a front flip off the diving board in Jersey yesterday. It only took me about ten aborted tries (I'm such a wuss) and an embarrassingly precise belly flop. I was feeling pretty good about it until someone showed me a picture (I've GOT to go the gym a few more times before putting that bathing suit on again. Better yet, I should just get a granny skirt or a wetsuit).

Posted by csageday at 11:23 PM | Comments (1)

May 17, 2006

Flooding

I'm not in the habit of reporting news, and I think this might be interesting to, oh, maybe 5% of my readership. But still, it's freaking me out and it's my blog. I'm like one of those people who sees their friend's friend's uncle in a news photo and gets all excited.

So, you know that flooding in New England? It has put my high school (which I've blogged about here and here) under tons of water (photos of the gorgeous, Hogwarts-like campus are here). The library and a bunch of other buildings -- some very old, some not (and some, honestly, that were built in the 60s and that I wouldn't mind seeing swept away) -- underwater. All of the students were sent home, and they're talking about "structural damage," which is awful, considering how some of these buildings define the campus. Pictures of the flooded campus can be found at the Concord Monitor and the school site.

Update: More pictures.

Posted by csageday at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2006

Mother's Day

We were whisked into the alternate universe of babyland (again) this past weekend. First, we saw the ever-taller Xander at his first Yankee game. He's walking around at a good clip and exhibiting signs of finding things not always exactly up to his standards (as a good Yankees fan will).

He's still completely adorable.

Next, we played host to the just-six-months-old-and-entirely-edible-Asher, who entertained us for an entire day with his facial expressions. He's a handsome, happy baby and a perfect size for holding. He was quite interested in all of the sights and sounds of our apartment. We were glad to oblige his taste for bananas and socks.

I got to hold him while his mom was shopping, and it was like stepping into a different Park Slope: the one where everyone has a kid and you're all part of this parenting cult. Random people compliment you on the baby, and you get to act as if you're a long-suffering, put-upon mother of an infant.

We used the changing table at child care in the Co-op, and I felt like I had a one-day pass to the secret parents-only version of the Slope, where Ferberizing and daycare are hot topics. It was a bit scary, actually. I think I'll stick to the childless, restaurant-frequenting, non-diaper-changing, aimless 20-something version for a while longer. With occasional baby-sitting privileges (because have you see those chubby legs??? Now I understand all the expressions about wanting to eat your baby).

Posted by csageday at 10:55 PM | Comments (4)

May 11, 2006

Sneeze, Cough, <Blows Nose>

Well, <sneeze> the bee poll<sneeze>en doesn't really seem to have done <sniffle> much. Snot pours out of my nose <sneeze> at odd times of the day, and I ride the <blows nose> train with pockets full of tissues. I'm too lazy/busy to go to the doctor, and I've eaten all the regular pills in the house to no avail. I've even gotten a bloody nose, and I've slept practically upright to allow airflow to my lungs. I keep hoping it'll be over soon, or my tolerance will suddenly start to build. After all this punishment, it should, right? This stoic suffering should get me something, shouldn't it?

I learned a disturbing fact about the trees in the city recently. The city plants "male" trees instead of "female" ones because they have shallower root systems and therefore wreak less havoc on sidewalks (can't confirm or deny this). The only drawback is that they spew out more pollen, and I suffer. Honestly, I didn't know that there were male and female trees. This seems somewhat sexist. Maybe I can start a movement to give female trees equal representation?

I _think_ the allergies are marginally better than last year, which isn't saying much. Oh, and I haven't really been taking regular doses of bee pollen. I ate a bunch of it like candy while watching TV one night and got terrific stomach cramps later, so I kept my distance for a while. So much for lofty experiments with alternative therapy.

Posted by csageday at 08:58 AM | Comments (4)

May 08, 2006

The Park Slope Flea Market

Here's one of the reasons I love Park Slope: There is a centrally located flea market on the weekends. Since it's on the way to the co-op, I walk through it nearly every reasonably-warm weekend. There are brooches and table runners and hats, there are clothes and collectible plates and old cameras, and there is furniture. Last week, I found a vintage tablecloth for $12. The desk my computer is sitting on came from the market. Derek found a bedside table. It's a gold mine.

It's also a mini-museum of twentieth century kitsch, and I always feel as if I could spend hours just looking at the stuff. It's very photo-friendly. I felt a bit nervous about taking pictures there, but I got a couple of good shots. I'll have to find the courage to take a few more next time.

Posted by csageday at 01:02 AM | Comments (2)

Rhubarb

Jeff brought us some amazing rhubarb pie last weekend and informed us that rhubarb is in season. The pie was so good that we vowed to pick up some rhubarb and make some sort of crisp (read: something easier than pie) before the season ends.

We managed to throw together a rhubarb crisp tonight and it was wonderfully tart and sweet. It's so easy to make -- just chop up the rhubarb in half-inch pieces and toss it with a good amount of sugar (a lot of sugar is good if you're sensitive to tart things). Then put some sort of crisp topping on top (we used the apple oatmeal crisp topping from the NYTimes cookbook), cook for half an hour and serve with ice cream. It wasn't quite as dreamy as the homemade pie, but it was damn good.

Posted by csageday at 01:01 AM | Comments (0)

May 07, 2006

Match Point

I am very impressed with Woody's Allen's latest film, Match Point. It didn't seem like a Woody Allen film -- it didn't explore relationships ad nauseum through endless conversations, and the cast is small. Visually, it's very satisfying, and the acting is fantastic. It's the best movie I've seen in a while.

Unfortunately for the audience, it makes you anxious from the very first scene -- which makes perfect sense because they story is filled with anxiety of different sorts, but it's hard to sit back and eat popcorn while you're tearing your hair out. You're anxious in a way that you'd be on a daily basis -- it's not artificially generated by cliffhangers. You feel anxious for the main character and for others, and the tension builds. Later scenes seem more charged because of this. Toward the end, I got up and paced just becuase I couldn't take the stress, but my reaction enhanced my experience of the plot and brought me into the story.

Match Point requires a bit of a leap of faith at one point -- I find it hard to believe the main character takes the action he does. Still, it's worth renting if you haven't seen it. The characters are all extremely well cast, and Woody Allen will do a great job of messing with your head as you watch it.

Posted by csageday at 12:41 PM | Comments (2)

May 06, 2006

Meringues: Take II

I woke up obscenely early (for a Saturday) this morning. And in my morning stupor, I decided that the three leftover egg whites in the fridge could best be used to make a proper batch of meringues, baked at the proper temperature and not made into dry little caramelized bits.

So I poured the whites into the bowl and, because I am still without an electric beater (I know, I know, I'll buy one soon), I set about whisking whilst reading food blogs. I whisked and whisked. My arm got sore. I stopped to type in a URL. Derek woke up, and I was still whisking. I considered passing off the task, but was too proud of the whisking I'd done so far to forego the glory of attaining soft peaks. I moved to the living room with my soft hills and valleys and continued to whisk, but never quite got to the peak stage. I'm not sure why. Maybe the whites were old? Maybe I stopped for too long in the middle of whisking?

At some point, I stopped and decided to proceed with the addition of sugar. Since I'm still not clear on what superfine sugar is (one recipe calls for some granulated and some superfine sugar, so I know it's different), I went with a mix of half confectioner's and half regular. By the time I had finished incorporating it, I definitely no longer had peaks of any sort. I had suggestions of waveforms, but really I was working with marshmallow fluff. Not even -- it was like marshmallow fluff soup.

Determined to get something edible out of this, I lined a sheet with foil and poured a bit of the mixture on it. It spread out like maple syrup. Fine, I'll have flat meringue-like cookies, I thought. When I poured the third puddle, it ran into the second one and I ended up with a huge meringue lake. Still determined, I threw the whole thing into the oven -- at the right temperature this time, at least. What emerged much later was a very large, thin, toffee-like meringue, if you can even call it that. I was too embarrassed to take a picture of it. I broke it into bits and have been eating it stubbornly.

Note to self: No baking of any kind before coffee.

Posted by csageday at 09:44 PM | Comments (4)

May 04, 2006

Bananas

Does anyone have any idea why this is my most viewed photo on Flickr?

Posted by csageday at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)

Don't go stealing my idea now...

I just thought of a great use for Mom's new wide-angle lens. We could visit a bunch of hipster and high-end restaurants and bars and document their tiny but creatively decorated bathrooms (this wide-angle lens could get at least three walls in one frame, I swear). We'd shoot the ones with red walls and gilded mirror frames and ridiculous linen napkins, and the ones with the european-style washtubs and ancient pipes instead of normal sinks. It would an ideal coffee table item for hipsters. They could play "Where's that bathroom? 71 Clinton Fresh Food or Per Se?" drinking games. Genius, no?

Posted by csageday at 11:35 PM | Comments (2)

May 03, 2006

Russo's

I feel very fortunate to live within two blocks of Russo's. It's an Italian deli on 7th Ave. between 10th and 11th streets. I'm amazed that more people aren't devotees. It can be a bit pricey, but they have some wonderful things.

There's a large selection of imported Italian foods: canned tuna and anchovies and tomatoes, sodas, and pastas. They have wonderful fresh pasta and amazing pesto in the fridge. The cheese selection is decent, and they make fresh bread regularly. We've found that it can run out late in the day, but try to snag the ciabatta if you can.

My two favorite items, though, are the fresh mozarella (so fresh it's sometimes warm when you pick it up) and the marinated or roasted artichokes. I usually thinly slice the artichokes and have them with slices of ciabatta -- it makes a great picnic item. The mozarella can break the bank (a largish ball I bought recently set me back $8), but it's good. Wait until tomatoes are in season and then treat yourself.

Posted by csageday at 12:24 AM | Comments (1)

Did you notice all the 8-12 year-olds on the subway last Thursday?

I took my 10-year-old nephew to Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day last Thursday and had a great time. We only worked together for a half an hour--the rest of the day was filled with activities for the kids--but it was nice to spend time with him and get the perspective of a 10-year-old. It was also nice to be the indulgent aunt who took him to Lincoln Center and the Time Warner Center and Bouchon Bakery afterwards. He wants to be either a professional hockey player or a car designer.

Posted by csageday at 12:12 AM | Comments (0)

May 02, 2006

Tie Racks Make Great Pasta-Drying Racks

...and while I'm offering budget kitchen tips, wine bottles make great rolling pins, too.

At least a decade ago, I helped a friend make pasta with her pasta maker, and I remembered it being so ridiculously easy. You just put the dough through this metal thing with rollers a few times, then you put it through a thing that slices it into strips, throw it in some boiling water and poof, you have spaghetti.

Obviously my memory is selective. We invited some pasta-maker-savvy people over for dinner on Saturday to help us not screw things up (thank goodness), but I vastly underestimated the time it takes to process flour and eggs into something edible and cooked. I somehow entirely blocked out the part where dough must be made and then must be kneaded (so demanding, this dough) and then must "rest" (comfortably, undisturbed, and presumable quite content to be holding up dinner while it gets beauty sleep under a dishtowel in its own private bowl).

While I felt a bit guilty about making them wait for hours for dinner, it's a good thing we had six people in our apartment, since it took four to run the pasta-making operation. First, I assembled dough (using the crowd-pleasing flour-volcano mixing method). Then, the dough got quality time in the bowl, resting. Then I rolled the dough out into 10" x 20" strips with a wine bottle because I had forgotten about the pasta-dough rolling part and didn't imaging myself needing a rolling pin until my pie-making retirement years.

At some point during the dough-making operation, we realized we didn't have any sort of rack to dry the pasta on (I had forgotten about that, too). We don't own a dish drying rack because we are lucky enough to have a dishwasher (and thank god for that, given all of the cooking experiments going on around here). So Derek disappeared and then reappeared a few minutes later with something that looked absolutely perfect: his empty tie rack. Rigged to hang from a cabinet door, it worked nicely.

So while I was rolling away, a friend anchored the pasta machine to our wine cabinet and supervised the dough-lengthening operation. One person would load the strip of dough into the top of the machine and crank it through and another would catch it. When the dough made it to the linguine stage, it was transfered (with a good deal of fanfare) to the pasta drying-tie-rack, where someone separated the pieces so they wouldn't stick.

For anyone not familiar with pasta machines: Here's a primer. A pasta maker has two parts. One is made of two smooth metal rods which can be adjusted to be closer and closer together. You start on a wide setting and keep feeding the dough through on narrower settings until it's good and long. when you're happy with the thickness of the dough, you move your sheet of pasta dough (which, miraculously, does not tear easily) to the second part of the machine. This part can split your sheet into linguine-sized noodles (or maybe it's tagliatelle?) or spaghetti-sized ones. We went with linguine, since that works well for carbonara.

The finished product was good, though a bit mushy for my taste (possibly because they were too thin or not dry enough?). And we made twice as much as we needed. But at least I know how the thing works now, and I'm very grateful for the help in figuring it out (and the patience of people who kept hearing about yummy food but didn't see anything edible materialize for quite some time). I think I'd like to try pappardelle or lasagna next time, since I love wide fresh pasta in restaurants.

Posted by csageday at 11:58 PM | Comments (1)