daily foods

A collection of what I nibble on throughout the day...chocolate-almond biscotti, ricotta-eggplant-potato-dill pizza, and yogurt-cucumber-tomato pita.

Artopolis

Had a delicious brunch here with big plates on small counters. Dessert for breakfast is the best! Cinnamon Apple waffles, nutella crepes, crepe-omelet, cafe au lait.

Unlimited Pasta

Cooking Italian has made me realize that it may be one of the most versatile cuisines in the world. Pizza and fritatta toppings, pasta and salad combos all have a couple of key ingredients, and then it's time to get creative. Mark Bittman agrees. I love his weekly video blogs on recipes delicious, easy, healthy, and cheap. No combination can get better than that.

Hoorah For Flats!

As the weather warms up, I'm ready to retire the clunky boots and slip into something barely there. Bill Cunningham read my mind this week in his video series On The Street featuring fashion trends in NYC.

Vincere

The title means to win, in Italian. This movie was pretty emotionally intense, especially given that it's based on a true story. Mussolini seduces, impregnates, and abandons his early lover Ida and their son, little Benito. Post-abandonment, Ida dedicates her life trying to convince the world she's his real wife, which only puts her in a looney-bin. Needless to say, the ending's tragic. I especially loved the mish-mash of Italian art, music, and real WWI/II film-reels. It's one of those really good period dramas where you get a palpable sense of society and culture at the time. I also didn't realize that Mussolini is perhaps the ugliest modern dictator (then again, they all aren't such lookers); with a perennially pursed lip and potato face, the guy feels the need to huff and puff his way into power.

Ankle Cigs

I was a Levi's loyalist until I bought a pair of Urban Outfitter's BDG ankle cigarette jeans. They're insanely stretchy and perfect for gals with shorter legs. Gives me a leggings Audrey look and pairs well with flats. Got them in midnight blue but might just need to collect them all...

The Tudors

JRM is finally back for the 4th and final season as smokin' Henry VIII. This season, he's grown some scruff and the wife is number the 5th. Catherine Howard is a coquettish wild waif destined to cause trouble with her scandalous nippling in the rain as the whole court's men lust after her. What other queen would have a mud fight with her ladies in waiting while the all the king's men gather around to watch?

Jessica's Price of Beauty

Jessica Simpson has a new show on VH1 where she travels the world getting to know beauty customs and rituals of different countries. First two episodes were Thailand and Paris. Love this girl, her body, and her Texas charm. Next up, India...http://www.vh1.com/shows/jessica_simpson_the_price_of_beauty/series.jhtml

Target's New Line: GDL

Just when you think Target has done it all, it manages to pair up with yet another celebrity for another affordable collection. Giada De Laurentiis, pint-sized (but not in the chest) Food Network glamour chef, has a new line of cooking utensils. I freakin' love this girl...watching her work and her ever-present cleavage is almost as good as ogling the beautifully presented food she makes.
http://www.target.com/b/?node=2233939011&ref=sr_shorturl_giada

Spring Greens

Made a refreshing salad today of mixed greens, cucumber, dill, feta, lemon juice, s&p. Simple, healthy, and beautiful to look at.

My Little Japanese Cigarette Case

Wonderful song with minimal lyrics that somehow never gets boring.
Spoon. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. http://fizy.com/s/16hm5s

It's just my Japanese cigarette case,
Bring a mirror to my face
Let all my memories be gone

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme and...

DILL! I've finally found you. As a kid, my grandma used to make the best dumplings---For all I know, they were not eaten anywhere else because it was composed of a mysterious vegetable filling I couldn't for the life of me reproduce or find in a grocery store ever since. Now, about 15 years later, after strolling and smelling my way through a Middle Eastern supermarket, I've finally discovered it's dumplings filled with lots and lots of chopped up... dill. I never thought to look at the herb section for the answer, assuming that most dumplings are meats and/or veggies based. This amazingly fragrant herb is now my daily obsession (it took 15 years to track it down!), finding its way into salads, sandwiches, pastas, and oh, just about every entree you could think of. It's just that every thyme (ha!) I eat it, I get transported back into early childhood, and a free ticket for time travel is quite marvelous if you ask me.

Moccasin Boots

Finally! Mila Kunis models a great way to wear these boots. I bought them myself a while ago and have been racking my brains thinking about what'll go with them. It looks like a little white peasant number will do the trick.

White Flowers

White Flowers
By Mary Oliver

Last night
in the fields
I lay down in the darkness
to think about death,
but instead I fell asleep,
as if in a vast and sloping room
filled with those white flowers
that open all summer,
sticky and untidy,
in the warm fields.
When I woke
the morning light was just slipping
in front of the stars,
and I was covered
with blossoms.
I don’t know
how it happened—
I don’t know
if my body went diving down
under the sugary vines
in some sleep-sharpened affinity
with the depths, or whether
that green energy
rose like a wave
and curled over me, claiming me
in its husky arms.
I pushed them away, but I didn’t rise.
Never in my life had I felt so plush,
or so slippery,
or so resplendently empty.
Never in my life
had I felt myself so near
that porous line
where my own body was done with
and the roots and the stems and the flowers
began.

Chili + Chocolate?

Tried a new kind of chocolate today-Lindt's Dark infused with chili. Reminds me of hearty Mexican hot chocolate where some hot chili powder is sprinkled on top of the richness. This bar tastes just like the regular dark chocolate, until you get to the end, where the chili flavor warms up your entire palate and leaves a delicious tingle after the chocolate has melted. Definitely going on my favorites list.

In with the new, in with the old

As an early birthday present, parents treated me to my first designer bag. It's a navy blue Dooney in their new Florentine Vacchetta leather collection. Love the small tote/satchel versatility and the throwback 50s style. Helps me channel my inner Joan (can't wait for Mad Men's new season this summer!!).

Meanwhile, mom agreed to bequeath her old Dooney to me (eventually), a weathered leather brown beauty. I'm considering starting a Dooney collection; who else here is a purse brand loyalist?

Tolstoy had style

The Last Station can be confusing if you go in like me, not knowing much about Tolstoy's philosophy and only a little about his works (it's on my life's to do list though I swear. Both War & Peace AND Anna Karenina.) The overall marital drama surrounding his will bequeathal gets more exciting, understandable, and touching towards the end. Anyhow, I was more distracted by a scruffy equestrian-booted turtleneck-wearing James McAvoy than anything else. Also, MMM to all of Helen Mirren's earrings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTh-vQho7UU

Fig & Procuitto Pizza

I was a total fig virgin before trying this fantastically complimentary combo at Brasil in Montrose today. Meat of a date marries the seeds of a kiwi. The chewy rich sweet paired with the meat's smooth smokey salt made me wonder how these two ever managed to make things work together despite the differences. They say opposites attract, especially when lying on a bed of fluffy buffalo mozzarella and heavenly raised white dough.

Sage Derby

Crossbreed between a smokey Gouda and some nutty, salty Parmesean, add in a little herb-grassy freshness and you get Sage Derby. org. 17th century England. Now less than 2 bucks at the discount corner basket of discarded cheese ends at Whole Foods. It's so much easier to try different gourmet cheese(s?) when you pay something less than 10 dollars for a change.

Pattinson Revisited

Robert Pattinson totally regained my respect post-spidermonkeying Twilight after seeing him portray the eccentric and flamboyant Salvador Dali in Little Ashes. Although the relationship between Lorca and Dali is historically debatable, the movie did a good job nuancing the love and conflict between two big personalities. Most disturbing was the clip of a real short film by Luis Buñuel and Dali: Un Chien Andalou. It makes absolutely no sequential sense, was inspired by their combined dreams, and the opening minute might just contain the most disgusting cinematic visual I've ever seen...By the way, that's a dead donkey's eye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsYKnYB4QxU