things i am vaguely obsessed with, february 2014

an unnumbered list of current miscellaneous obsessions

  • Ben & Jerry’s Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt. I love lemon flavored sweet things anyway and this might be my new favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor, we tried it in Vermont and I’ve been hunting for it in NYC (found it today, yay!).
  • Snoods. I blame the weather and I was never big on the whole circle-scarf thing but I got a chunky knit snood/cowl before it started snowing and it is my new favorite thing. It is super cozy. Also I like the word snood. (Even though it is also a video game and a hair thing.)
  • Not True Detective overall but specifically Woody Harrelson’s hair on True Detective. In general I like it a lot but I’m not properly obsessed. I am overly fond of the hair department, though.
  • Leuchtturm1917 notebooks. I think this one is Joe Hill’s fault. I used to be a Moleskine girl but these ones won me over with page numbers.
  • Birdy. Kicking myself for not getting her mostly covers debut album sooner, and also annoyed that her newer album isn’t out in the states yet. At least I can watch pretty videos.

 

vermont in photos

We spent the last few days in Vermont, somehow managing to arrive there in post-snow winter wonderland with perfect chilly sunshine and get home just before this winter wonderstorm descended upon NYC.

We were in Burlington for a few days and then Stowe, and in between we stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s factory, because of course we did. We visited the Flavor Graveyard and everything.

I’d never been to Northern Vermont before and I really loved it, though I should have taken more photos.

snow

 

burlington

 

vermonty python

 

stowe

 

pink bubbles

happy year of the horse!

pony

I was born in the Year of the Horse and I’ve heard a few Chinese astrological sources say that your own year isn’t supposed to be that fabulous but so far I’m rather liking this pony year.

Recovering well from the wisdom tooth extraction, received good news on several fronts, and I have a new tiny pony to wear around my neck. I’m looking forward to seeing what the year brings.

pony necklace

Happy Lunar New Year!

soup!

I am getting my wisdom teeth removed this morning. I may be unreachable for the next while because I plan on being medicated and sleeping a lot but I will do my best to catch up once I’m coherent again.

I spent most of the weekend making soup. I like soups and I am getting better at making them. Potato leek is always one of my go-to soups because it doesn’t have that many ingredients. (I add an onion to mine and basically that’s it: little bit of oil onion leeks potatoes broth boil blend season eat.)

And we also recreated a soup we invented mostly unintentionally while in Florida. It was an attempt to do something with all the random things we had on hand and it turned out so well that I made it again to have while I can’t nom solid foods. It’s delicious again so that first attempt apparently wasn’t a fluke and it does appear to be a good and proper soup.

So here, have a sort of recipe for a soup that doesn’t have a name. I should give it a name. Butternut Squash Golden Beet Yummy Soup? Hrm. I’ll come up with something eventually. In the meantime…

Peel and cube one butternut squash. Peel and cube one bunch of golden beets. Toss all the cubes in olive oil (or other oil of your preference) and salt and pepper, spread on baking sheet and roast at 400. After about 30 minutes, add a cubed apple to the mix and continue roasting for another 15-30 minutes until golden brown and soft.

Meanwhile, slice an onion. Put a little oil in the bottom of the soup pot and toss the onion in and let it cook until almost caramelized or so. Add a tablespoon or two of chopped ginger near the end.

Add the roasted squash beets & apple to the soup pot and just cover with broth of your choosing. Stir and simmer for 20 minutes or so. Blend the heck out of it with an immersion blender which is super useful for soups or in batches in a regular blender.

Season to taste (I added a bunch of turmeric to this batch and it’s lovely) and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of bee pollen or drizzle of honey.

This would be so much better if I had a pretty picture of the soup right here. My apologies. If I have one later in the week I’ll add it, currently the soup is in containers in the refrigerator and very orange but not particularly pretty.

I’m glad I actually really enjoy food that doesn’t involve chewing, but I still hope tooth pulling recovery mode doesn’t last too terribly long.

 

internet hiatus, smith club, belated florida photos

I shall be on fairly strict internet hiatus this week, my apologies for late twitter replies or anything of that ilk. Actually turning off the wifi and all that so I can get some things done.

I’ll be back to regularly scheduled low-volume internet on Friday.

This Thursday January 23rd I will be speaking to/chatting with the Smith College Club of NYC. It is, at the moment, my only scheduled appearance for 2014. More info at the link.

In the meantime, here are a few photos I meant to post in December from the Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens in Florida, which was gorgeous and wonder-filled.

japanese garden bridge copy

japanese garden pond copy

DSC_00112 copy 2

miscellany for mid-january in a short, unnumbered list

  • I read Stoner by John Williams over the weekend. I was gifted it over the holidays and it is exquisite. Such a lovely, lovely book.
  • I also got this Giada cookbook for the holidays and while I haven’t tried any of the proper recipes in it yet I have become mildly obsessed with putting olive oil and sea salt on my oatmeal.
  • I have to have my wisdom teeth removed at the end of the month but apparently I only have three of them so that’s… something, I guess? I will be making lots of soup beforehand.
  • My new-to-me, on-heavy-rotation January music includes Le Loup and Austra.
  • I am currently out of yerba mate and so my morning tea routine is all confusing and not routine. I have more mate on order. Today’s tea was guayusa with coconut sugar.
  • Considering I have started and erased this last unnumbered thing four times because I felt ending on tea just didn’t have a proper sense of completion, I’m going to stop typing and just post this now.