Brooklyn -- Part Deux

Every square inch of Brooklyn is in use.

The streets are lined with row upon row of contiguous (if incongruous) patchwork walk-ups, Vietnamese take-out windows, junk stores, book stores, abandoned factories with punched out windows, and identical (and slightly sad) 'organic markets.' Space that isn't claimed by buildings is in high demand by a revolving coterie of neighborhood cats, kitchen gardens, clothes lines, graffiti artists, rusty BMWs, taco trucks, delivery trucks, purebred dogs, city benches, and make-shift thrift shops.

The result is exhilarating and somehow comfortable, but navigating it on five hours of sleep is exhausting. So, we took a late afternoon nap in a hotel bed that was far too soft and clean for New York -- in a room the size of a closet.

Dinner was at the slightly worn, but wildly popular, Lodge, where we spent far more money on healthy versions of classic American dishes than they were worth. But the jolly little candle on our table, two pints of Doc's hard cider, and a slice of warm apple pie a la mode made up for it. We even laughed at each others' jokes -- just like a real date!

Afterward, we trucked it down to Zebulon Cafe Concert, where we managed to snag a table just in time for Peru Ana's performance which included digital video and a dude on a xylophone. We were flagging again by the time Adron took the stage, so we only stayed for another half hour, during which time she played Biciletta, warbled like a bird (literally), and covered probably at least three octaves.

We Heart Brooklyn

BROOKLYN -- Flying into New York City for the first time is probably something most people remember for a long time. I know I will. For ten minutes leading up to Manhattan itself, there are views of sprawling horseshoe-shaped houses with acres-wide manicured lawns and bright blue swimming pools. Gradually, these opulent spreads give way to crowded suburban townhouses, then rows of industrial-looking tenements, and finally you see the water. I got a little thrill when, in the middle of it, I saw a greenish-looking sculpture in the shape of a woman -- Lady Liberty, and she was beautiful (I blame this sentiment on the thrillingly-contagious American nationalism already creeping into my consciousness).

Once inside Terminal B of La Guardia, I caught myself listening for public instances of impoliteness, evidence, I believed, of New York identity. But within five minutes of being in Williamsburg (a gentrifying neighborhood in Brooklyn and site of the iconic novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), I found myself forgetting all about the admittedly likable conservatism that is characteristic of Ottawa and giving over to longing for an upstairs unit in one of Bedford Avenue's grungy five-story apartment buildings.

We have already eaten grits, spicy kale, fried black pepper potato bombs, and free-roam eggs at Pig and Egg, a laid-back restaurant that grows its own produce in the Catskill Mountains. We lounged this off in McCarren Park, and we're now at El Bett, a hipster hangout whose music playlist alternates between Black Sabbath and Spanish guitar melodies. We we're drinking ginger Boylan and trying to blend in with all the other twenty-somethings wearing skinny jeans and big sunglasses.

I'll post pictures tonight.

Never Have to Leave My Room Again

THE COUNTDOWN

We're going to Brooklyn! In two nights and three days, we will be cooling to the Tropicalia beats of Brooklyn scenestress, Adron, at the Zebulon nightclub on Whythe Avenue. The only thing on my mind will be 'mojito or...a double?'

You're not going, but you can listen here: http://adron.muxtape.com/.

Follow our adventures in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Mexico on my new-old blog, BITE HARD.

Saturday Afternoon

Pingvin lakrids courtesy of Sine whose regular licorice deliveries and fantastic Danish fashion will be sorely missed now that she is back in Denmark.


After longing after it for years, I finally bought origami paper! Here is a paper crane and...a human Adam.


Hungry fox (which I gave up on, but Adam managed to finish) eating a cracker.

Mister and the Missies

Squeaker

Automatic

Every time we go on a car trip to 'Big Box Land,' I pack a snack.

This is an impetus that was trained into me by my father who never leaves the house without a bag of apples, bananas, peanuts, crackers, cookies, and cheese (plus, a big bottle of water). One of the best food memories I have, in fact, is of a sandwich that Dad made for me in our second-hand Jetta, which was parked outside a strip of outlet stores in Freeport, Maine, where my mother and brother were shopping. My Dad hated (still hates) shopping, and I, the most babyish member of the family, was feeling tired that day. It must have been during an era when you could leave your kids in the car for short periods of time. I remember having a nap in the afternoon sun in the backseat of the car, and when I woke up, Dad was back from his quick jaunt to a grocery store, where he had picked up cups of yogurt, a packet of deli-shaved turkey breast, and a bag of soft dinner rolls. He ripped a hole in one of the rolls and stuffed it full of turkey meat before handing it to me. Best sandwich of my life.

Here are shots of a recent car picnic with Adam. Leftover Pad Thai from Pho Mi Bog Ga in South Keys and a warm potato and mushroom perojki (a filled sweet bun) from Perogies, located only a block from IKEA (you'll no longer need the $1 breakfast to help you power through the store!).

Down By the Bay

First outdoor picnic of the year! Adam has been wanting to go down to the river for a month, and, last weekend, it was finally dry enough to sit outside and listen to the geese coming home.

Our picnic was made up of the amazing food haul we got at Shiraz on Friday afternoon. We got some of their pressed yogurt (a huge treat and well-worth trying if you have the chance), a container of mild baba ghanoushe, and some cinnamon-dusted walnuts, plus a beautiful jug of French walnut oil, some soft dates, guava juice, and a glass jar of sour cherries. The next day, I sliced some cucumbers and sweet red pepper, and packed up an Iranian picnic worthy of ringing in the new season.


And...like all my best dates with Adam, this was one of those really satisfying afternoons that happens when we're least expecting it.

I Had a Dream I Was a Vigilant Sidekick

Apple Grumble

Last night, Adam set me an alarm for 6 am, as I was slated to do an early morning airport run for Sarah and Jeremiah (who are flying to my old stomping grounds in Whistler!). When I awoke, it was cold in our place and drizzly outside. A bit gray, I admit, but what perfect weather to bake something sweet for breakfast. I decided to make an apple crumble to use the last four New Brunswick Cortlands that have been languishing in the back of my fridge. Wanting to make the crumble as a breakfast food, instead of a dessert, I cut way down on the sugar (and used raw sugar instead of brown), added only a few dobs of butter, mixed raisins in with the apples, and sprinkled sliced almonds over the crust. The result was a much drier and far less sweet version of my mum's crumble with a toasted almond-oat topping that reminds me of granola.

So...I gave it the hybrid name of grumble.

Topped with some of the 2% yogurt Jeremiah gave me in the bag of hand-me-down perishable groceries he gave me at the airport (this is a Soucie sibling tradition designed to prevent food spoilage/waste while one of us is out of town), the grumble was a rich-tasting, but healthful breakfast...for me, that is. Adam's still asleep.

Cold Mitten Friction

When Jeremiah and I were growing up, my dad used to apply Cold Mitten Frictions to our hands and faces after school. Yesterday, he reminded me about this old trick in an email, saying, 'take it from one beaut to another...stay natural. plus, it's cheaper and doesn't require any demand on your time. scrub your face 'hard' in the mornings with a cold mitten friction and you'll have the best countenance in Ottawa.'

Cold Mitten Friction: Get a bowl of cold water and a washcloth. Grab one corner of the washcloth under your thumb. Wrap the cloth around your hand as shown in the illustration above. Take the free part of the cloth hanging down from your hand, fold it toward the palm of your hand, and tuck it under the edge of the cloth crossing over the palm of your hand.

Dip the mitten in the cold water, and, starting with the hands, rub the skin briskly in an up and down motion. Proceed up the arm, briskly rubbing all areas of the skin.

(Modded directions from the The Gilead Institute)

You're Blocking My Sun

Mustard Egg

When I was growing up, one of the fast and easy breakfast foods in the Soucie household was called, simply: mustard egg. I don't know the evolution of this 'dish,' only that my mother loved it -- and still makes it from time to time.


To make one, melt a bit of butter in a pan, crack an egg into it, and then use a wooden spoon to break the yolk and stir up the egg a little. Before it starts solidifying, place a slice of bread on top, and cook until the egg firms up. For an extra special touch, flip it over and fry the underside of the bread in the remaining butter. Then, just slide it onto a plate and spread a thin layer of mustard over the egg. Finally, S&P it and then eat it all up.

X Country

My first time cross country skiing in...probably fifteen years!

The Next Level

Today, I took the 'green smoothie' to the next level by using black kale instead of spinach. Black kale is a popular winter green in some parts of Italy, but it's starting to become more readily available in North America too. The health benefits of black kale are many -- and, even when steamed, it makes a really sturdy base for winter salads or as a bed for marinated tofu.

Lucy warned me that the kale would have a stronger taste in drinks than baby spinach does. Even so, I think with a little more ginger and maybe a few leaves of mint, I could really develop a taste for this smoothie.

Green Smoothie (Intermediate Level)

1 ripe Ataulfo mango
four small stalks black kale (chopped into two inch slices)
small cube of ginger (peeled)
1/2 cup kefir (or more)
1/2 cup of cold water
1 tsp Udo's oil

Blend for a couple minutes on high. Drink!

Snert

I drove Miss Lucy to Dutch Grocery last week, and loaded up on paprika flavored potato chips, fluffy Dutch mustard, sliced rye bread, farmer's meatloaf, twenty kinds of licorice, and a large container of frozen pea soup (cutely dubbed 'snert' in the Netherlands). I packed some of the soup in Adam's lunch last week, and although he wanted to like it, he didn't.

I think the problem is that he'd never tasted pea soup before. It has a bit of an earthy, feet-like taste that takes some getting used to. As a kid, I couldn't bear the smell of it, even though my mother, a closet French-Canadian, loved the stuff. And now I appreciate why. The kind I bought at Dutch Grocery is thick and smokey with colorful shreds of carrot and generous bites of pork and bacon. Plus, I added half a snop of walnut oil and a fuzzle of ground black pepper for garnish. Delicious!

Still...eating something so hearty and hale this late in the season almost seems quaint, like patronizing the final dregs of cold weather with the appropriate food choice.

Camera Shy

The reason I haven't posted any pics lately is that my old bean had our point-and-shoot on his epic journey across North America. Here's evidence of the Canadian legs of his trip.


Top of the mountain in Golden, BC.


Middle of a steep run.


Break time on one of the tamer runs.


Two total fools. You know it.


Kevin, Shaelin, and Kristine. I miss those guys and want to meet that little one.


Amelia, Rebecca, and a little bit of Carl in the background. Ditto my above comments.

Burrrrritos!

Still no camera, so you'll have to imagine your own image of what I made for lunch!

First, open a can of black beans, dump them into a colander, and rinse them off a bit. Next, put a little pot on the stove, turn the heat on low, add some oil, and finely chop half a small purple onion, adding it to the pot. Then add in a clove of finely minced garlic, a spoonful of cocoa powder, a pinch each of nutmeg and sea salt, and a spoon of chipotle pepper paste (made by pureeing a can of chipotle peppers).

Cook this mixture until onions have turned slightly translucent. Then add the beans and the juice of half a lime. It's done when it looks creamy and is the beans are heated through.

Meanwhile, heat up a couple flour tortillas and shred some lettuce with your chef's knife. I also grated a bit of nippy white cheddar to melt over the beans. Assemble, and they're done!

Warming, quick, simple, cheap, and delicious. Oh yeah!

Drink All Around!

I'm home alone for yet another week! Which means that I don't always eat...'meals.' Not structured ones, anyway. After having a dinnertime snack of Purity gingersnaps and Sussex Golden Ginger Ale (native Maritime treats!), I decided to clean out the old system with a kefir smoothie.

Recipe

1 overripe nectarine (including skin)

1/2 cup kefir and whey

1/4 cup orange juice